I have seen a few of these but I felt compelled to write about my love for my own father. My situation is different because my Dad chose me. I wasn't an accident between him and my mother and I wasn't his because he was trying to have a kid. I just happened to be something he got when he fell in love with my Mom. He didn't have to raise me and he didn't have to adopt me but he did. He didn't have to do a lot of things, but he did, and for that, I have to say thank you.

Thank you for deciding I was worth your time. I was a two-year-old and a lot of people could agree that I wasn't your problem. You made a choice to watch Barney with me one day and I was yours forever. You took me to school, to my doctor's appointments, and to go shopping. That's a lot of driving around. I don't think you expected that when you met my Mom but you always took me everywhere and put me first.

Thank you for sharing your interests with me. You are the reason I will forever argue with my friends that are UNC fans because you gave me the last name Duke. I may not watch every game but I love basketball and I didn't get that trait from Mom. You helped me form my love for Peyton Manning. Every football game that you watched I asked you who you were rooting for and it would become who I was rooting for. That especially involved Peyton Manning. From Tennessee Volunteers to the Broncos, I always cheered him on because of you. Not to mention my obsession with Star Wars. You showed it to me when I was younger and let's just say the seven shirts in my closet reflects how that evolved. Not to mention you introduced me to the director! I mean just this last year we saw the movie together and you made comments the whole time to me and it was so nice to have something to talk about that Mom didn't care about.

Thank you for taking care of her. You didn't have to take care of us both but your love for my Mom shines through every day. I honestly believe you think she knows everything and walks on water. I do too. The way you love her inspires me. I'm searched so hard for love because I have you two as an example. I literally had to witness true love every day of my life. It's beautiful and thank you for loving her so much because she deserves it.

Thank you for my family. I don't know what kind of life Mom and I would have if it wasn't for you. You gave me three beautiful siblings that I adore. I have the strongest family and you created that. You may not have created me but you created this family.

I don't know how you do it and I hope you never stop. Having you as my father is the greatest blessing I have. My life could have turned out so differently if you didn't walk into our lives. To say I am who I am without you is a lie. I am as much of you as I am my mothers. No paper, people, or even biology is going to tell me otherwise.