Father's Day

For my daughter,

June 2018. It came faster than I could ever have imagined. It’s been a big month for you. Graduation from high school two weeks ago, college orientation this past week and in a few days you’ll turn eighteen. It’s been a big month for me as well. While I am excited for you to start the next chapter I wrestle with holding on and letting go.

Today is Father’s Day. I’ve never considered it as a day that warrants parades and banquets. In my own way I’ve celebrated every day since you were born as Father’s Day. It has been my greatest joy and privilege being your dad and watching you grow up. I am so proud of what you have accomplished and the young woman you have become.

 

I know what you're thinking, why am I writing this and putting it out on the blog. Because I can, dude! And because every time I think about shutting this all down you tell me I should keep doing it because it's who I am. You have been the one person who has supported me through all of this.

If you look at the "What" page it says, "In these backwaters life happens, solitude is found, stories are created, friendships are forged and memories are made." My favorite part of the last eighteen years has been seeing the world through your eyes and as you've grown older, listening to you describe how you see the world and experience life.

You've taught me much about life, about what it means to be a father and in the end, about myself.

 You’re about to move on with your life and take the next step to wherever your journey carries you. Other than knowing where you’re going to college the future seems uncertain. It should. You’re at one of those magical places in life that teeters between being exciting and terrifying.

Embrace it. Learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Put yourself out there.  Walk up to the edge and look over it. Never lose your curiosity about what lies over the horizon. Some of the best things in life are those that are unexpected, things that you stumble across or that find you when you're not looking.

I'm not going to bullshit you, life is tough. You'll struggle through failure and success. We all do. Your grandfather once told me, "If you don't make mistakes, you're doing something wrong." Learn from it all. Mistakes are the foundation of getting things right. Strength comes from the struggle.

If she were here, your grandmother would throw this little nugget at you (I heard it a lot over the years), "The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It's not the circumstances, it's about what you're made of." You're made of good stuff. Don't forget it.

At the end of the "Why" page I wrote, "In the end, the only thing that any of us really own is our story. I just want to live a good one." 

You are, and always will be, the best part of my "story."

Now start writing yours.

I love you, 

Dad

South River, MA
17 June 2018