A Letter For My Mother

Hi mom, happy Mother’s Day! I hope you are well. I just wanted to send you a note to let you know I was thinking about you.

As I was thinking about what I wanted to say, I was kind of overcome with the realization of all of the things you did for me personally, and for our whole family.

I know when I was a child I was the most troublesome of all of your kids. Part of this I think was because I was the middle of your three sons, and whenever there was a fight I was always involved with one of my brothers. Another part of this was I was a schemer, and a sneak; I thought I was smarter than everyone else, and tried to prove it by pulling off schemes to get what I wanted.

As troublesome as I was, your love for me never wavered, and neither did your patience. For this you have my eternal gratitude; I credit you in great part for me growing up to be the man I am today.

As a child, Dad was my hero, but it was you who was my rock. You were always there when I needed love, or someone to understand what I was going through. You made sure I had a good lunch when I left for school, and our family had a good meal every night for supper. My clothes were always clean, and you even let me listen to the Rock-N-Roll radio station.

When I think back I remember all of the wisdom you passed on to me; and in spite of my hard head, much of it has stuck with me.

In closing, I want to thank you for all of these things, and anything I may have left out. I thank you for taking nine months out of your life to carry me in your womb, and for the pain you endured to bear me. I owe you a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid in one lifetime; all I can do is pass the love, and wisdom you gave me unto your grandchildren.

I love you mom.

Dear Dad

Editor’s note: My father passed away in 2011. I wrote this for him a few years before he passed. A republication in honor of my dad.

Hi Dad, happy Father’s Day. I did not get you a card this year. It’s not that I’m cheap (well maybe a little cheap), but I could not find a card that comes close to saying everything I want to say to you. So I figured I would take the time to make my own card right here that would say everything I want to tell you.

Dad, you are my hero and you always have been. When I was young you were the most handsome, the tallest, and the smartest man I knew. In church you were the best singer. I was always proud to say you were my Dad. I spent my young life trying to emulate you, I tried to sing like you, tried to be tough like you, and I tried to show some common sense from time to time.

Dad, you are the standard by which I judge myself, and all other men.

In my lifetime I have been blessed by God with many fortunate things; however I consider having you and Mom as my parents to be the most fortunate event of my life.

I just want to take the time to say Thank You for everything; all the love you gave me, the wisdom you passed on to me, all the time you spent playing catch, or running around so I could play football, or wrestle; and driving to strange airports to pick me up. Thank you for keeping a roof over all of our heads, and food on our plates for so many years. I owe you and Mom a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid in one lifetime. All I can do is pass the love you gave me onto your grand children.

Even after all of these years, I am still trying to be like you.

I love you Dad.