Thank you. Thank you for everything. You were there from the start. You gave me my first bath the day I was born. You clothed me with my first diaper. You held me, fed me and rocked me to sleep many many nights. You even taught me to sleep in my own bed. And it was on that night you knew, I was going to be the child that challenged you. From the start, it was a battle. As a baby I stayed up all night and slept all day. We battled about sucking my thumb, eating my vegetables, learning to ride my bike, the clothes I wore, my attitude, sports, and probably the worst for you BOYS! Oh yes, our biggest battles were boys or my curfew. I sure did push the limit with you. “Kelly, I give you an inch and you take a mile,” you’d say.

You have wiped my tears, healed my wounds, picked me up when I was down, pushed me when I didn’t think I was good enough, and you never let me give up.

Thank you for keeping me in church. My faith has taught me that God is ALWAYS there. Thank you for teaching me to bunt. You knew my potential before I did. Thank you for sitting on the swing with me while I cried over my first heartbreak. Thank you for pushing me to ride my bike without training wheels. I finally got it, but not without a huge knot on my head. Thank you for noticing the time I left my baby pillow in a hotel room after a high school softball tournament. It was then that I realized you might know me more than I thought. Thank you for giving up your weekends for me. You sacrificed time away from my brothers to take me to gymnastics meets and softball tournaments. Thank you for encouraging me to live at the dorms my second year of college. The bond I built with my teammates that year will last a lifetime. Thank you for teaching me to think for myself. Thank you for not killing me every time I rolled my eyes, talked back, had an attitude, came home late with thirty seconds lefts before my curfew, calling boys, and talking on the phone when I was grounded. I challenged you every day, but what I didn’t realize is that you were challenging me. You challenged me to be a better person. You taught me to never give up.

And most of all, thank you for all your hard work you put into me and my brothers. You worked long hours and still made it all of our extracurricular activities. I am still not sure how you survived three kids, but you did. Thank you for not being selfish and putting us first. Thank you for stepping up when you weren’t given the choice to be a single dad. I hope I can be half the aunt, you were as a daddy to me. Anyone can be a father, but it takes a special man to be a daddy.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY

Love forever,

YOUR LITTLE GIRL – Kelly Jo

And Happy Father’s Day to my brothers. Thank you for letting Daddy take time away from ya’ll on the many weekends we were gone for sports. Thank you for putting up with me all these years. I love ya’ll forever.