Thank you for letting me be your other child.

Thank you for always being there, and always being a phone call away. You didn't have to step up to take the role that you did. No one asked you to do that, and add me to your family. But I will forever be grateful for what you did. You made life after losing my dad a little easier. I knew I could call you whenever I needed to talk. I could call for that fatherly advice, I could call because I was stressed at school, or I could call because I needed to get out a good cry. You were always there for me.

You will be the one that will interrogate my boyfriend. You will be the one that my boyfriend goes to ask for permission to marry me. You will be the one that will walk me down the aisle on my wedding day.

You took a place that was really hard to fill but you filled the shoes pretty well. You did not sign up for this but 10 years ago your world was flipped upside down when I lost my dad and you lost your best friend. Growing up without a dad is not as easy as it looks but you made that pain a little easier, knowing I could always come to you.

Thank you for letting me come visit you.

Thank you for sharing your kids with me.

Thank you for answering your phone during work meetings so I could talk to you.

Thank you for making me smile.

Thank you for being here for all of my important milestones.

Thank you for always reminding me that you love me.

Thank you for telling me that my dad would be proud of me.

Thank you for watching over me.

Thank you for caring about me.

You showed me that water can be as thick as blood. You showed me your priorities. You showed me what it's like to love. You showed how to deal with a situation you were not expecting.

Thank you for constantly staying by my side. I know that my dad would forever be grateful to you. And I know that he would be so proud of me, and you are able to have the honor of watching me grow up, something that he sadly missed out on. But we both can now live our lives to honor him and make him proud while remembering his constant strength. Whenever I call you, it is like a little piece of my dad comes back into my life which makes me smile so much more.