To the man that raised me, taught me how to drive and is my rock every day of the year, it’s easy to say that you deserve more than a single day to celebrate. So, here is my open letter to not just my dad, but for everyone celebrating their fathers on this Father’s Day weekend.

From holding my hand on the way to class on the first day of school to buying me all the random types of small pets I always thought I had to have, you have always been there for me when I needed you most or just didn’t want to go through things alone. You listened as I told you about the first boy who broke my heart and continue to always answer my (almost daily) phone calls to hear about my college days. Even when I have no actual news, I just feel like catching up for 20 minutes.

When I was a little girl, you taught me to brave, to love wholeheartedly and to be thankful for everything we had. You were always proud of me and made me feel like I could conquer the world — a feeling that you still give me today. I was the biggest daddy’s girl that I knew, and I still am, understandably so, since I have the best dad a girl could ask for. From trips to the zoo to “sick” days that I’d spend drawing you pictures in your office while I waited for you to get out of meetings so we could go to lunch together.

One of the biggest things I have to thank you for on this Father’s Day, Dad, is sticking with me through everything, even when I made it really hard. Through those teenage years when every daddy’s girl’s love for her father abruptly turns to hate, and there’s literally not one thing you can do right or without “embarrassing” me, you still found ways to win me over. You would be the over-protective dad that you always were, but you knew how to let me have my freedom at the same time. Even when it came to the first boys I dated, you never embarrassed me by threatening their lives, (that I knew of, anyway), or trying to show them embarrassing baby pictures of me. You were intimidating enough just by giving them a firm handshake and wearing your “I’m a very important man” business suit.

Throughout high school, yes, we definitely had our differences. You pushed me when I didn’t want to be pushed so that I could keep turning into the best possible version of myself, which all paid off in the end with an acceptance to the college of my dreams. The fact that it would be tearing us away from each other after a couple of months was the only part that I would hate about it. When you sent me off on my own, it was one of the most emotional moments of our relationship, but we knew that nothing would tear us apart. And really, the distance has only brought us closer (since we can’t annoy each other as much). If all else fails Dad, just know that I will always be your little girl and will never forget about all the things you’ve done for me. I love you.

Happy Father’s Day.