I wrote myself this Father’s Day letter so as Isabella grows older and being a dad gets more difficult, I can look back on this letter and remember what type of father I wanted to be. My daughter, Isabella Rose, is only 14 months old so there’s no talking back yet, no getting into real trouble and no huge challenges other than the occasional blowout or temper tantrum. But I know that one day things will get harder and when those days come, I want to make sure I never lose sight of what type of father I want to be for her.
First off, Happy Father’s Day to all of the fathers out there in the world. Being a father truly is the best gift life has to offer. It’s God way of entrusting us with the responsibility to care for and love a single person more than you have ever cared or loved before. The truth is, being a father changes you to your core that first time you lay eyes on your precious child. Then when you hold them, hear them laugh, see them smile, hug them and look into those precious eyes, it changes your life in ways you could never imagine.
As I sit back and thank God for the incredible opportunity he gave me to be a father to my daughter, I can’t stop thinking about what type of dad I want to be…
So here’s what I came up with…
First off, the most important thing to me will always be that Isabella knows how much I love her. I want to teach her what love means, how to love others, how to be loved and that both her mommy and daddy will always love her no matter what.
The mistakes that we both make along the way will never change how much I love her and I never want to assume she knows how much I love her. I want to make a conscious effort to show her how much I love her each and every day. I always want her to feel comfortable telling me the truth and I want to be honest with her as well knowing that our truths will never change the love I have for her.
Second, I want to be a role model for her. “Do as I say and not as I do” won’t be part of my parenting style. I want to live my life in a way that shows her the right path to follow in life. Not that she needs to follow my every foot step but I want to show her the values, morals and principles for which her mother and I want her to live by living my life by those some principles.
I want to be caring, loving and happy so she too learns to live that way. I want to live for others and go out of my way to make the world a better place so she too will do the same. I want to be kind so she too is kind to others. I want to face the challenges in my life head on so she too will never be afraid to find the strength to face the difficult parts of life and so those hardships don’t steal her happiness from her. And I want to take accountability for the mistakes and errors I make in life so she too will accept responsibility for the mistakes she makes so she can learn from them and make changes in life.
Third, I want to show her how she should expect to be treated from others, especially by those she chooses to love in life. I am far from perfect. I have my outbursts of anger and frustration and God knows I’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way but I work every day to be the best person I can be so I can love her mother with all my heart. I want Bella to see how much I love her mother and look for that type of love in life. I will treat her mother like the queen she is so when Bella goes out in life in pursuit of her life’s partner, she uses our relationship as the standard for what to look for.
Although we are both far from perfect at times, we put each other first, we treat each other with respect and dignity and we love each other from the deepest parts of our hearts. I can’t be the father I want to be without her mommy by my side. We are a team and we face this thing called life, together – forever. I married my best friend and god-willing I hope Bella can do the same one day.
Fourth, I want to inspire her to always chase her dreams and to be ambitious beyond measure. I want her to never be afraid to be herself and showcase the talents and gifts that God gave her as she sets goals for herself and pursues each and every dream she has. Bella bear, you tell me you want to be the President of the United States and I will be running your campaign. Shoot for the stars princess and always know that daddy is your biggest fan. I want to support and encourage her to never settle for anything less than everything she dreams of. I want to encourage her to set goals that scare small minds and to never let people convince her she’s capable of anything less than greatness. I will be her biggest cheerleader in her pursuit of what fills her heart with passion, purpose an the purest form of happiness.
Fifth, I want to be a patient and understanding father. This will be hard for me because I can be intense at times and often expect others to share my passion and intensity in life. I want to be patient enough to listen more than I speak. I want Bella to know I can listen without always giving advice and that I can support her in her development without always telling her which steps to take. I will struggle to watch her make mistakes that I know I can help her avoid but I want to understand that is how we learn some of life’s most valuable lessons, by making mistakes and learning for ourselves instead of being given every answer in life. I also want to be understanding that she may not share all of my interests and she may not see the world the same way I do. She may want to take different paths in life than the ones I would have taken and that’s ok. I will always be in her corner supporting her. I will be her biggest fan. My job as a father isn’t to always tell her what to do but to guide her through life as she starts to make those choices for herself so she can live a life that brings her happiness.
This leads me to the final pillar of who I want to be as a father for Bella. There is so much more that goes into being an incredible father and specifically, to being the type of father that I want to become, but for the sake of this letter there’s one more thing…
God gave my daughter the most precious smile I have ever seen. Just like her mother, she is the epidemy of beauty and that smile connects straight to my heart. I want to be the type of father that encourages her to share that smile with the world in everything she does. I want to guide her to living a life that makes her so happy that she can’t do anything but smile. I want to support her through the hard times in life so the adversity she faces never steals her smile and happiness from her and I want her to know that no matter what, even if I don’t always agree with the choices she makes, I want her to be happy and to live her life with a full heart.
Daddy is far from perfect princess but I will always do my best to be the best father for you. I’m sure there will be times where I stray from this path but I have your momma to whip me back into shape when that time comes. Be patient with me because I’m learning as I go but together, we’ll have the time of our lives figuring out this thing called life.
P.S. Even though it’s Father’s Day, it’s important you know how incredible your mommy is. There’s no way I could do this without her so give her a big hug today and always know that life is the ultimate team sport.
Love you princess,
Daddy
Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to checkout my Youtube channel, A Dad’s Dream, that I created as a tool to help me mold the world into a better and brighter place to raise our daughter in! I want Bella to see me as a bright light in a world that otherwise seems dark and dreary.
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And as always, THANK YOU for your support.
