Dear, Dad I have been staring at this blank screen for about twenty minutes, thinking of how to start this letter. So, I'll try.
Dad, one of my earliest memories is back when I was three, and I was on your shoulders putting a garland of flowers on a Ganesh statue during Rinkoo Mamu's wedding. I remember laughing and never wanting to leave this moment. I was always going to be your little girl. Fast forwarding to when I was four on my way to my first day of kindergarten and holding your hand so tightly because I was afraid of going. You didn't let go of my hand.
When I was five, I remember you tucking me in because I had a severe fever and putting on my favorite show, "Kipper" and sitting there smiling because I was laughing. When I was six, I remember you sitting in the hospital, holding my hand because I had to get stitches from a nail cutting my foot in the bathroom. You never left my side. When I was seven, I remember you telling me to sleep because I was so excited about going to Disney world. You always knew how to get me smile. When I was eight, I remember you telling me that it was okay to get C's and that I was a sharp kid with a bright mind. I can do better.
When I was nine, I remember you telling me about our family and culture and you enlightened my mind knowledge and stories. I always love your stories. When I was ten, I remember you telling me how proud you were of me for graduating from elementary school and how fast I was growing. I was going to go big places one day.
When I was eleven, I remember how excited you were that I got straight A's, even in math. After all, I am your daughter. When I was twelve, I remember you comforting me in the hospital and telling me that mom was going to be alright and even though the car crash was bad, we were lucky to alive. When I was thirteen, I remember how excited I was going to Harry Potter world. I couldn't believe it, and you made it happen. On my fourteenth birthday, I remember you giving me an iPhone 4s and seeing how excited and surprised I was. You always love surprising me.
When I was fifteen, I remember you telling me to take more advanced and challenging classes, and that I was smart enough for it. You never gave up on me. When I was sixteen, you drove us to Niagara Falls for a family trip on the 4th of July. You love taking us on adventures and always think of the family. When I was seventeen, you made my dream come alive by taking our family to Europe. You smiled as I gasped in excitement in London.
When I was eighteen, you hugged me so tightly because my friend had lost her father. The thought of losing you was too painful. At graduation, you couldn't stop smiling because your little girl had graduated and was going to college. Going on a new journey and doing big things. At nineteen, you told me to follow my dreams as a writer and journalist and said you always support me, no matter what. You were never going to leave my side. At twenty, you told me that you can keep things between us and that when I have anxiety attacks, I can confide in you.
That was our father and daughter deal. Also when I was twenty, you hugged me tightly as I cried because I finally got into my dream school, UMD. I was going to make you proud. The point is Dad, you were always there for me when I needed you or even when I didn't ask. I am able to conquer the world because of you. I know you didn't have a father growing up most of your life, and that becoming a father was the most challenging job you can have, but you did a good job in raising your kids, and we are glad to have you in our lives. We love you, Dad.
Love: Ambika, Akash and Pappu
