Best. Dad. Ever.

Dear Dad,

Thank you.

For putting the other dads to shame.

By being such an awesome dad.

Thanks for teaching me how to use a hammer,

a screwdriver,

and a drill.

Thanks for building the best igloo a 10-year-old girl had ever seen during the biggest snowstorm of her childhood.

Thanks for teaching me about music and introducing me to the Skyliners, the Ronettes, and the Everly Brothers.

Thanks for teaching me how to drive, chip, and putt a mean golf ball.

Thanks for teaching me how to throw a frisbee,

a football with a serious spiral,

and a horseshoe.

So I can hang with the guys.

(And even kick their asses).

Thanks for passing along your love of the beach

and teaching me how to catch the perfect wave.

Thanks for practicing baseball with me, and teaching me how not to throw like a wuss.

Thanks for driving from Connecticut to Pennsylvania on a Wednesday after work to fix my car radiator in the middle of the night when I had no money.

Thanks for teaching me how to drive a car and to back into a parking space using only my rear view mirrors.

Thanks for teaching me how to start a lawnmower,

a leaf blower,

a string trimmer,

and a garden.

Thanks for teaching me how to dance with a guy.

Well, thanks for trying, anyway. I still need a ton of practice on that one.

Thank you for passing that competitive spirit onto me,

for demonstrating the importance of hard work,

perseverance,

responsibility,

and honesty.

Thanks for reading Richard Scarry’s Nursery Rhymes to me until I had them all memorized,

and for showing me how to make that really annoying noise by cupping my hands together and blowing on a blade of grass held between my thumbs.

Thanks for carving my initials in that tree in the woods,

and building a tree house that would have made today’s child safety experts have heart palpitations.

Thanks for climbing mountains for me,

and with me.

(nice socks)

Thanks for making sure I knew that you still loved me, even when I fucked up.

Really badly.

Most importantly, thanks for teaching me these two important lessons…

1) I don’t need a man to do anything for me,

but

2) I do need you to be my dad.

Because of you, Dad, I’m turning into a pretty kick-ass woman.

But I’ll always be your little girl.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad.