There are a million reasons why we are grateful for the role you have, and continue to play in shaping us into the people we are becoming. Ya'll have carried us on your shoulders, kissed us goodnight, held us tight when we were scared, and promised us the world. Because of this, we hold you on an unreachable pedestal. Here's to all the times we should have thanked you when we didn't.

You have the best dance moves, act the goofiest, and plan the best adventures.

You have advocated for desserts, and acted like a kid when you were way too old to do so. You've never yelled about neglecting dirty clothes on the floor or dishes in the sink for the latest episodes of "Walking Dead" or "Scandal," usually because you have done the same. When Mom fussed that you were playing "good cop," you were teaching me what it meant to let loose and to forget about reality. In tough times, you have dreamed of brighter days, and because of this, we thank you.

Although your discipline was rare, your punishments were the most brutal.

The tears would come without ceasing when my daddy yelled at me. You taught us the tough lessons, the ones that hurt the most, and the ones that will last a lifetime. Your belt stung the longest, and with you, our feelings were most tender. Your lessons educated us on trust that results in heart-break, on a love that comes once in a lifetime, and about consequences when responsibilities were neglected. For that, we thank you.

We could never find a guy that is so blinded to our weaknesses like you are.

Nor could we ever find the one who would tell us we're beautiful when we are far from it. We dream of a future with a husband's love comparable to your love to our moms. Although, we have to fight disgust at the idea of the intimacy, we admire you respect, commitment, and dedication to her. We aspire for a man to look at us the way you look at our mom's after 20 plus years of marriage. The standards you've set have made boyfriends unworthy before they could even make an attempt. The ones that have somehow decided to stick around have grown jealous of our admiration to you. We look to you for guidance and no boy make it if our daddy does not first approve. For this, we thank you.

You taught us about priorities.

We learned that Sundays were for church first, then family lunches, and NFL in the fall. It was this order that led us through life's difficult decisions. We sought God's will, looked to our family for support, and then contemplated over a good game of baseball. We came to love our colleges because of the opportunities God provided, the family we've discovered in friendships, and football games on Saturdays. Thank you for training us to love those things, and love them right. For that, we thank you.

You taught us to work hard before we could play hard.

We've watched you spend long hours in the office. We witnessed the sacrifices you made to make our lives better, and to provide us with opportunities you never had. We saw your desire for us to succeed grow as our education increased. With each internship, job, and networking experience we received, you were the first person we wanted to call. You've cheered for us from the sidelines and prayed that we'd score the touchdowns. For this, Dad, we thank you.

You taught us how to budget our money, or at least try to.

Whether it was knowing a guy to fix anything broken, or just trying to do it yourself, you taught us where to save so that our futures would be more prosperous. You taught us to look towards the future and to always keep in mind the things that lie before us. Even though we almost broke you with all the shoes and overdraft fees, we are thankful for your constant nagging.

Whether its from crashing into swing sets, or being romanced by the no-good guys of the world, you ferociously protected us.

You kept us innocent and naïve. We grew up protected from the dangers lurking around each corner. You feared for us, you gave us curfews, and told us no. As angry as we were then, we are that much more grateful for your guidance. Thanks, Dad, for always being there racing to catch us from the fall, or cleaning the guns in the kitchen.

You've been by our sides through it all, and always taking it the hardest.

You never cry, but when you do, we know its real. You helped us take our first steps, you were the reason for our first laughs, and you cried the most after you dropped us off at college. You are the ones that checked on us constantly our Freshman years, and have not ceased since. Thank you, Dad, for being so many of our firsts and never telling us goodbye.

From a young age, we have dreamed of becoming princesses. We wore tiaras and walked around with high heels permanently glued to our feet. Although the reality of this world has successfully eliminated belief in this fantasy you have provided us with a modern-day fairy tale within your arms. Whether you are still here as our knight in shining armor, or it's only your memory that we have the opportunity to honor, we will never be able to thank you enough.