To my dearest daughter Skye
You were born on Friday May 7 2010 at 1:06pm, it was a rainy day and I firmly believe that was because the angels above were crying as you depart from among their midst to join your mother and me to begin your life. Their tears of loss go along with my tears of joy as you enter my life anew. It was a long nine months as I waited and watched your mother grow. I went to all the doctor appointments and saw all the ultrasound pictures and as time went by I became more and more anxious to see you.
You seemed to have decided that you were gonna come out early with no disregard for the fact that it was too early and your little body was just not ready to take on the world just quite yet. So we spent time with the doctors trying to keep you in the womb to give you more time to develop and be ready to hit the ground running when you got here. And wouldn’t you know after all that time spent to get you the best chance of this and we get the all clear from the doc you get stubborn and won’t come, ahh stubborness a trait I think you got from me, albeit probably not a good one. But alas here you are now and your life begins.
So as your father I thought I would try and fill you in on some things that you may need to know as you grow. You have three brothers and three sisters. All of whom have been anxious to see you as well. So far your siblings have made this family what it is, and with the addition of you our family just got a whole lot richer.
Let me start by saying that as your father I am gonna do everything I can to make your life as rich and happy as I can. I have visualized tea parties in my head complete with the extension of my pinky finger and I just break out into a big smile. Somehow that seems so wrong but yet so very right. I’m sure it wont take you long to realize that your Dad is a pretty strange guy. My interests are wide and varied, I like to sit and watch classic movies with mom, and hopefully you soon too. I have a very strange sense of humor and often times you may not understand it and I can almost see the quizzical look on your face in my head as I write this. I’m sure your mom, siblings and grandparents will be able to tell you all kinds of stories as you grow up of the strange and stupid things I have done. And as you grow i’m sure the questions about my various scars, strange sayings and other things will come up and I will fill you in the best I can.
Well lets get to life – life in general is not easy never has been never will be, but I will help you with whatever I can. There is a movie I like to watch, it is called Forrest Gump, it has two of my favorite all time characters in it. One of course is Forrest Gump, he is simple man not the brightest but his outlook on life(mostly taught to him by his mother) is one of the most refreshing I have ever seen in my life. It is very basic and simple, things happen and you deal with them. Forrest ends up with quite a life, now remember Skye this is a work of fiction, but movies, books, and music are great inspirational tools albeit fictional or factual. So for me I would say keep things simple and see the bright side of life. Do the best at whatever you are doing at that moment and revel in the joy of doing whatever it is that makes you happy. Make sure I approve of it first though!
Now life is not always peaches & cream though, people are not always nice and things sometimes happen and life gets tough. Enter Lieutenant Dan – probably my all time favorite character. LT Dan has had some trouble in his life things have not gone his way. But at one point Lt Dan and Forrest are on a boat and facing down a hurricane that is sure to destroy everything in its path. LT Dan climbs to the crow’s nest straps himself in and faces the storm head on, with gusto. Yelling at mother nature and god to do their worst. Some people would say that LT Dan wanted to die, I however disagree LT Dan wanted the heaven’s and earth to know he was there to stay no matter what they threw at him and there was no stopping him. It was a turning point in LT Dan’s life. I have taken great inspiration from LT Dan’s story and is how I like to think of myself when facing problems. I would like you to do the same do not fear difficulties do not shy away from the unknown. Let the heaven’s and earth know you are here and you will stomp them down and prove the universe wrong, no matter what they throw at you, and always remember that if you need an extra LT Dan to give you some help I will be here. We can strap ourselves in together and scream away and show the world what you can do.
Now I know that as a father I am not perfect and I will fail and probably fail miserably. I would like to apologize ahead of time and only say I am human and bound to make mistakes. But I am sure your mother will straighten me out as soon as she can. Your mother is good at keeping me in line, and I think she gets some enjoyment out of kicking my butt on occasion.
I’m sure as the years go by we will argue and disagree on many things, what time you will be home, what boys you are gonna date, and so on and so on. No matter how bad we fight just remember my love is always forgiving and eternal. You will always be this little tiny girl laying here taking a nap as I write this. You see a father always see’s his kids as those little ones who need our protection and we can be quite fierce about this especially me. Please know I don’t do this out of spite or just to be mean. I love you and want the best for you I don’t want to see you hurt or upset. So if I am sitting in my lay Z Boy in my boxers polishing a shotgun when you bring that first boy home for me to meet please don’t be surprised. Although I am pretty sure your mom will not let me get away with that one. Although what a story to tell your kids though huh ?
It is really hard to sit down and write everything out about how the past day has felt. Watching you being born was amazing, your mother and I both in tears and emotionally spent and drained but laughing and excited to see you. The emotions run fast furious and very deep. Our Family is large and has now gotten even larger now with the addition of you. Which only means life in itself has only gotten even better. Your brothers and sisters and now you have given me such an apreciation for life, it is unfathomable to imagine my life without any of you.
I better wrap this up by now you are figuring out your Dad is long winded although I never talk out loud much. I hope I can be a father you can be proud of. A father you will be happy to see and spend time with. I will always love you no matter what. Its forever your place now as one of Daddy’s Little Girls.
Love Dad
