“When my father didn’t have my hand, he had my back.” - Linda Poindexter

To the man who helped raise me.

I wanted to write this letter to you because I wanted to take some time to show you how much I really appreciate you. You are such a brilliant person, and I have been so fortunate to have you as my father and as the man who helped raise me. There are so many reasons for why I want to thank you and show my appreciation, but I will try my best to summarize the 19 years that I’ve had you as my father.

I want to thank you for all the laughter. You always make me laugh, whether it be with your sarcastic remarks or the goofy faces you make almost daily. I want to thank you for all the lessons you’ve taught me. You’ve shown me many ways to deal with the world and what it contains, and you’ve taught me even more about how to deal with myself. You have especially shown me how to roll with the challenges that come with growing up, and I think I’m getting better at managing them thanks to your guidance. I want to thank you for all the awesome ideas you’ve passed down to everyone in the family.

You’ve given my siblings and I an awesome taste of music, to which we always jam out to in the car. When your favorite songs come on the radio, we all know there will be a lip syncing performance that is soon to come.

As well as the awesome sense of music, you and mama have given us an even greater sense of humor (I think so, anyway; we could look like a bunch of grinning idiots, but I’m always laughing when I’m with you guys, and I think that’s what counts). I appreciate all of the hard work that you do constantly and I appreciate the fact that you do it all for the family and that you still make time for us at the end of the day. You’ve always tried your best for all of us and I know that we do not do a very good job of thanking you as often as you deserve.

Thank you for loving each and every one of us in the family. You are kind, intelligent, hilarious, and a genius, and I am extremely proud to call you my dad. You are a brilliant man, and if I was given another man for a father, I’d certainly ditch him to come find you. Thank you for always having my back and for inspiring me. I truly hope that I will grow up to be as great of a person as you are.

Sincerely,

Your (favorite) daughter