Dear Daddy,

Thanks for taking time off work to come visit me. I know 12 hour plane rides aren’t necessarily your favorite nor is having to give up the Queen size bed for mom and I to snuggle. 😉

I have far too nonchalantly broken down my DNA makeup to looking like mom and having your emotional sympathy. If I went a little farther I’d say that mom and I act in the same way but you and I have a similar way of thinking.

Now I would replace emotional sympathy with heart; your heart, full of love, bleeding from your sleeve, is what I share with you.

[There’s a whole avenue I could take this down, but if I’m being straight, I already hesitate when posting my honest thoughts because it’s a glimpse of my heart and I don’t feel like diving into our hearts on this platform right now, but it’s a good preface to where I’m headed in this letter]

I’m a feeler to the max and I have you to thank for a good portion of this. And I love this part of you so so so much.

I’ve heard people say, “one day, when you have children of your own, you’ll understand,” and I have no doubt that this is true because even though I am still a growing single woman I am learning with each new day the length at which my parents care for me. This is why I think this idea should be rephrased a little more like, “You’ll understand what it’s like to be a parent, feel like a parent, hurt like a parent once you are one.”

I have always felt supported by you, so much so I couldn’t pin point one specific thing because whatever I set my mind to be: a soccer player, a student, a sister, a daughter, a friend, a woman- I was blessed by your full belief and my support from you overflowed. It was as if I had already reached my goal, that is the level of pride you had in me and my talked-about destinations.

However, I saw this in a whole new light this last week. As I said, I learn more about your love for me with each new day, and personal experience with you shows it best. I described this three-stringed, somewhat made up, recycled-parts-only banjo that I wanted which was immediately met by your encouragement to buy it and follow my dreams of being a Hawaiian banjo protégé. All the while you were more than aware of my musical history, which was lacking to say the least, consisting of some minor piano lessons around age 7 and a far too large collection of offbeat, off pitch, and aw-ful car karaoke performances.

But that didn’t stop you from tuning my fishing wire and trying to teach me a few cords, patiently treating this endeavor as my new profession.

I don’t know why I thought I needed to go abroad to learn l’arte d’arrangiarsi because you are certainly the king of making something out of nothing; a dream out of a single word, a life out of a vision, a party out of an old banjo.

Part of Luke 6:45 says, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart.” Thank you for storing up good and sharing it with our family, friends, and all those in our community.

I can’t imagine what I’ll understand once I’m a parent myself.

I can still feel the pricklies on my cheeks from your kiss goodbye.

Looking forward to a fun filled summer with you!

Lovingly,

Riley Makenna