Dear absent father,

This is for you. This is for a father who was nearly never in my life. This is for a father who I will never call dad. This is for the kids who have fathers like mine. This is for closure. This is for me.

You will regret the things you have done one day and will realize that you messed up and that you lost your opportunity to be a father. You will wish that you had the chance the play catch with your kids and to send them off to school dances. You'll wish you could've saw them on their first day of high school and them on starting positions for school sports but you missed all of that.

Thank you for teaching me that I will never need a man in my life. Thank you for teaching me that even the people who are supposed to love you unconditionally can still leave. Thank you for showing me that I can make it on my own without someone who is supposed to always be there. Thank you for teaching the most valuable life lessons anyone possibly could.

It may take you a while to realize what you've done and I guess that's okay. It's too late anyways.