The last installment of Shoebox Letters features an adult daughter expressing eternal love and gratitude for her father
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Editor’s note: This is the last in a series of six letters excerpted from Shoebox Letters—Daughters to Dads, a collection of over 30 letters from daughters to their dads about the role that their dad has played in their life. Heartfelt storytelling told through the unique letter format, the book provides readers a rare, personal glimpse into the life between the writer and the father.
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Dad,
Instead of talking to you daily, thanking you for all you’ve done for me, I thought it a better idea to write you a letter. As I get older I am noticing that my childhood memories are starting to fade, and before they’re gone I want to make sure you know how much I love you, even if I didn’t always show it.
How excited I was the first time Mom let me walk down to the corner by myself and wait for your car to come down the street on your way home from work! You’d stop, I’d jump in, and it was our special time alone. If I was lucky, it was your night to get milk and we’d pick out some ice cream to bring home. No matter where you went, you always seemed to bring something special home with you. Trips downtown automatically meant fresh doughnuts, but the best were the fresh lobsters from your business trips up east—how much fun we always had sitting on the kitchen floor watching our lobsters run for their lives!
Being the child of an engineer is a special treat—help with homework always turned into an hour long discussion, even if it really only needed to be 5 minutes. Everything had to be discussed and analyzed, pictures had to be drawn and only then did an answer get revealed. Home projects turned into major learning opportunities—the graph paper came out, studious measurements were taken, math formulas were memorized and then finally the project started and the fun began. “Measure twice, cut once”, and “check your work” became your mantras and I find myself using both directives continually to this day. You made me a toolbox when I moved into my first apartment, and I think of you every time I have one of those tools in my hand.
College, careers and children brought challenges that you were always there to help with. No matter how many times I fell down, you were always there to pick me up. Nothing got in the way of you being at the kids’ soccer, baseball and basketball games, you were the first in line for grandparent’s day, and you were never too busy to help them with a science project. You were such a special part of their lives! We still have many laughs remembering all the fun we had together, especially the Thanksgiving that the turkey didn’t cook because you insisted the lid did not have to go on the roaster.
Now that you’re gone, I miss not seeing you all the time, not having you over for dinner, and most especially I miss the really special times we had together, just you and me. The long conversations, particularly about the early years when you met Mom, joined the Navy, went to college, and started working. All the memories you have given me have kept you very close to my heart. I know you are watching down on me and still taking care of me. I tip a beer (always in a room temperature glass) in your memory. Love you Dad.
—photo by osakaSteve/Flickr
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For more on the Shoebox Letters and series editor Clay Brizendine, check out the foreword excerpted from the book and a Q&A here.
The first five letters of the series can be found here:
Daughter to Dad: You Helped Me Grow Up And I Need you More Than Ever
Daughter to Dad: Be There and Be Accountable
Daughter Praises Dad for Unconditional Love
Daughter to Dad: You are the Standard for the Men in My Life
Dear Dad, Thanks For Teaching Me How to Bait a Hook and Wear Dresses
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