Dear Daddy,

Thank you for being you!

Thank you for always proofreading my essays. Thank you for always taking the back roads to places (even though I hate it, and it takes 10 times longer to get wherever we're going). Thank you for always giving me a bunny on Easter.

Thank you for allowing me to be myself. Thank you for always updating me on games when I'm at work. Thank you for teaching me how to throw a ball, swing a bat, and catch. Thank you for taking me hunting (even when you know you won't get anything with me there).

Thank you for all the times you played catch with me after you had a long day at work. Thank you for driving all over to watch me play softball. Thank you for watching Dr. Phil and Law and Order with me.

Thank you for pushing me to be my best. Thank you for letting me make my own decisions (even though I hate it when you say ,"That's up to you"). Thank you for showing me how a man is supposed to love me.

Growing up, I never realized how much I took you for granted. All the time we spent together, going to get ice cream on Saturdays, going to work with you, and all the times you took me hunting or fishing... I miss that now.

All of those "If I taught you anything in life" talks I rolled my eyes at, I never realized those lessons would stick with me. All the talks after softball games were never really about softball but instead, how to be a better person.

You taught me not to care about what other people think. You taught me my opinion matters and to stand firm in my beliefs. You taught me to never back down from a challenge.

The way you love Mom made me realize I deserve nothing more than Prince Charming! Not all girls have the privilege of growing up with a father, but I got the privilege of having a father who always put me first. You had opportunities to take better jobs with better pay, but you chose to not to take them so you could be a part of my life.

I know moving away for college was tough on you (and let me tell you, it was hard for me, too!), but I'm blessed to have an amazing father like you. Someone who instilled small-town values in me and someone who has never given up on me. You gave me the tools to grow and become the woman I am today! I'll always be your little girl.

You are kind, intelligent, selfless, and I hope one day I become half as wonderful of a person as you are.

"Chase your dreams, but always know the road that will lead you home again. Go on take on this whole world, but to me, you'll always be my little girl!"

P.S. I love you.