Saturday, June 18, 2011

A Letter to my Dad

Dear Dad-

Do you remember a couple years ago when you were helping make a railing for a family that was building a home up north? They had a fabulous 10’ porch that wrapped all the way around the house, and they wanted you to make a metal railing for it.

You’d put a lot of effort into planning how the project would turn out. You researched the legal requirements for spacing of the balusters, figured the width of the balusters themselves, converted decimals of length into actual practical-application inches, and arranging the formulas correctly in the spreadsheet so that you knew exactly how far from the end each baluster was to be placed.

I was heading out the door, but you grabbed me, “Hey, I wanna show you this. Your mother wouldn’t appreciate the work involved, but you would…” And I did! I recognized the effort and time that went into what you’d done.

That was probably the most awesome (and when I say awesome, I mean wonderful) thing you’ve ever said to me. I know Mom isn’t the math wiz you and I are, lol, and that’s ok. But you recognized that we DO have that in common. It meant a lot to me. Not just that you wanted to share, but that you recognized that commonality. I don't know that you realize how much that meant to me... and still does.

You. Saw. Me.
Of all the people that you know- coworkers, friends, family, church leaders- that you could have shared this accomplishment with, you chose me. Thank you!

I love you, Dad!
<3 Your Daughter