Dear Daddy,
I miss you. You’ve been gone almost 32 years now, so you’d think I’d be used to it. But some days, I just really miss having a daddy around.
I want you to know that I love you. It wasn’t always easy being your daughter. There were times it was downright hard. But there were also times that were joyful and wondrous. I remember how Becky and I would run up to you and maul you when you’d get home from work. Sometimes we’d hide in the kitchen to try and scare you to death when you walked in the door. BOO! How sweet that you indulged us.
I remember how you’d bring us home surprises. Just little treats to make us smile. You know I now ask the hubby (though sometimes he just does it on his own) to bring me home a surprise. It reminds me so much of you.
I remember taking Daddy Foot Rides where you’d let me sit on your big foot, wrap my arms around your leg, and you’d drag me all over the house.
I remember being so proud of you when you stopped drinking.
I remember how much happier everything became when you were baptized.
I remember how awful it was to get the news you’d been shot in the head.
I remember how horrible it was to watch you live on a ventilator for 3 days.
I remember how kind the nurses were; how loving their hands were.
I remember knowing that one day I’d see you again in Heaven.
Over the years, I’ve often not done naughty things (think sex, drugs and rock-n-roll) because I knew you were up there, looking down on me. I wanted you to be proud.
Over the years, I’ve missed having my big strong Daddy there to cry on, laugh with and be escorted down the aisle by.
Over the years, I’ve become a strong, proud, independent woman because being your daughter helped me see how important that is.
Over the years, I’ve discovered that I am like you in so many ways. Mom says I get my love of muscle cars, fast driving and cussing from you. I love that.
If you had lived I have no doubt that I’d still be a virgin wearing baggy turtlenecks and skirts down to my ankles everyday, as no boy would ever have been good enough and you’d have scared the life out of any man that tried. I’m sure that even up in Heaven you were chagrined when I married the exact man you told me to stay away from. “Don’t bring any of those long-haired hippies home!” Well, I married two of them. A girl’s gotta rebel a little. I know you’d love my sweet hubby though, Daddy. He treats me like a princess. You’d be proud to call him, “Son.”
I miss you Daddy. While I’m not looking to go to Heaven any time in the near future, I sure hope it’s you who greets me when that blessed day does happen. It’s been too long since I’ve seen your handsome face.
I love you. Happy Daddy’s Day.
Your little girl, always…
Happy Father’s day 🙂 He must be smiling..
LikeLike
I sure hope so!! I haven’t done anything illegal in a long time, so he should be proud! 😉
LikeLike
ha ha 😀
LikeLike
…smiling and so proud of you….:), thanks for stopping by!
LikeLike
What a precious and kind thing to say. Thank you…from my heart.
LikeLike
Relationships with parents are the most complicated & challenging of all. We chose each other but not in this realm, and to learn from each other – a relationship of the greatest trust. Your post is a great tribute to your dad & you. I’m sure he’s still around, alternately banging his forehead with his hand, and laughing 🙂
LikeLike
I’m sure there is TONS of him banging his forehead with his hand and laughing!! 🙂 Lord knows life is a comedy of errors. Thanks for the thoughtful comment. 🙂
LikeLike
Oh what a wonderful handsome Dad! Lovely tribute – very touching. Wish you a plentiful of happiness on Fathers Day!
Cheers!
LikeLike
Thank you!! I always thought Daddy was a strapping looking fellow. 🙂 Thanks for the sweet words. You have a wonderful day too!
LikeLike
:’) At least you got to experience having a daddy. 🙂
LikeLike
Yes, I am truly blessed to have had him for 10 years. I’m forever thankful for that because I know that so many others never even get one for a day.
LikeLike
That really made me cry. As a result of that, I sent a text to my dad telling him I loved him and how much he means to me.
Although I don’t know you personally, I know you enough through this blog that he would be so proud of you Jodi.
LikeLike
Now you are going to make ME cry!! DAMMIT! I managed only a few tears while writing it, now they are back.
I’m so glad you sent your dad a text. I can only imagine how much it means to hear “I love you” from a child.
Thank you, from my heart, for saying that my daddy would be proud of me. I hope I make him smile and chuckle with all my insanity. I was so shy when I was young I bet he’s stunned at the maniac I’ve turned out to be.
Big hug to you, sweetie. And I hope you have a wonderful Daddy’s Day. XOXO
LikeLike
Chuckle? His sides are probably splitting. LOL
Just had a phone call from my dad saying he loved the texts, and the personalized card I sent him 🙂
Hope you have a good day – after you have gone to bed of course as it is nearly 2am there lol
LikeLike
I love the thought of cracking up my dad. He was one of those “life of the party guys.” He had a great laugh. 🙂
I’m soooooo happy to hear that your daddy called you and loved your texts and cards. My heart is officially warmed.
I think I hear my pillow calling me, but it’s going to have to wait for a little while. The hubby is out of town and the second he leaves my night owl tendencies come back full force. He’s one of those dang morning people. ICKY! So when he’s home I usually go to be early and just read for hours as he sleeps. I like it when we go to bed together, so even if he goes at 10:00, I go too. But when he’s gone, I’m up all hours! 🙂 Have a wonderful Daddy’s Day, sweet man. XOXO
LikeLike
Must be awful having that bed all to yourself. LOL. But normally snuggling up to someone, or just feeling the warmth of them beside you , I imagine, is comforting. So not having him there would be like having the bed changed and not putting sheets on or giving you different pillows. It just seems wrong.
Hope he’s not gone long
LikeLike
Believe it or not, I hate having the bed to myself! 😉 He’s a flopper–he starts on one side of the bed and usually elbows me in the eye and is diagonal within an hour. I’m one of those wake up in the same place I fell asleep people. I rarely move. I miss him so much when he travels for business. He travels fairly often, he’s in Vegas now (poor bastard!), and it’s always torture. We’ve been together almost 5 years and I’m still like, “Nooooo!” when he has to go away. It may have taken me 10 lifetimes to find him, but it was worth the wait as he’s not only my hubby but my best friend too. 🙂 He’ll be back in 4 days, thank God! 🙂
LikeLike
Oh the boredom that is Vegas hehe 😉 Do you mind if I send you a personal email with something I wrote a while ago. You saying about it taking 10 lifetimes to find him reminded me. If it’s okay, my email address is mondrak@googlemail.com
LikeLike
Of course, my dear! I’ll email you now.
And yeah, going to Vegas much be such a bitch! Nothing to do. Nowhere to go. Luckily, I trust him with my life, so when he says, “Only one hooker a night,” I believe him. 🙂 KIDDING!!! 🙂
LikeLike
Hahaha. You have such a great, and trusting relationship with your husband.It’s brilliant 🙂
LikeLike
He’s a freaking peach! He’s as mouthy as I am. We keep each other on our toes, no doubt. 🙂
LikeLike
I stopped reading half way trough it……
LikeLike
Uh oh…did I hurt your feelings or something? If so, I’m really sorry…
LikeLike
No, just a sad day for me. Reading what u wrote there, made me think of my dad. But, i was very young when my dad past away.
LikeLike
I know how you feel. It’s hard not having a daddy around. It seems that you and I both lost our daddies way too young. It helps me to know that one day I’ll see him again and he’ll be healthy and happy. Much love to you today.
LikeLike
Thanks, and to u as well.
LikeLike
What a sweet and heartfelt post.
LikeLike
Thank you so much. Daddies rule. 🙂 I hope you have a wonderful Father’s Day.
LikeLike
Like you, I miss my dad so much…I miss his words of wisdom and I miss the times that we get to sit down over several cups of coffee and just listen to him share stories of his own struggles in life.
LikeLike
It’s so hard missing a daddy. You and I just get to rely on our wonderful memories of the great times we had with them when we were lucky enough to have them around. I hope your day isn’t sad, but filled with happy remembrances. 🙂
LikeLike
Yes, they are always remembered with fond memories!
LikeLike
This is when I find it hard to believe there is a God….when he takes someone precious from us. And then not others. A beautifully worded post. I only put a few words on my post that you visited…..thanks for liking it. Your’s is even better.
LikeLike
You know, I truly believe that God brings people home to him when doing so will be better for them than remaining on earth. My dad had a spot on his lung when he died. I’m sure with all the smoking he did that it likely would have been lung cancer. My dad was one of those tough, manly-men and I’m sure if you’d asked him how he wanted to die, he’d have said that he’d rather get shot while on a hunting trip, doing something he loved and never seeing it coming, than die slowly in front of his family. At least that’s what my heart tells me.
Thank you so much for the kind words about the post. It was my pleasure liking/following you. I’m glad we met. 🙂
LikeLike
Wow. That must have taken so much to write down. Thank you for sharing your soul with us. Such powerful memories. Have a wonderful day, with only the best of memories! ❤
LikeLike
Megan, I’m so happy we met. 🙂 Your comments always make me smile. I’m really glad you enjoyed the post. It was both hard and easy to write, if that makes sense. You have a lovely day too. 🙂
LikeLike
A very nice peace.
Also, thank you for dropping by my blog as well. ^_^
LikeLike
*piece
whoops.
LikeLike
You are very welcome! 🙂 I love finding interesting blogs. 🙂 I always correct my typos too. 🙂 Hey, quick question. I researched this and couldn’t find a good answer. Which spelling do you think is correct in these sentences:
“Say your piece.”
“Say your peace.”
It was about 50/50 on the sites I went to. Since your typo was about that word I thought you might have a vote. 🙂
LikeLike
I think it’s the former. ^_^
LikeLike
heehee….I thought that was easy….but when you think about it……it could be either…..’piece’ can be a piece of something, like poetry or music etc. etc So you could say, ‘Say your piece’ in that context…..and then of course you ‘say your peace’ to get things off your chest…..or clear the air….LOL 🙂
LikeLike
It IS tough to pick!! You are exactly right when you list why each would work. I can’t remember which one I ended up using in the book–probably “peace” but I don’t remember at all. 🙂 Thanks for your opinion. I’ve been dying to ask someone else what they think and voila, there you are!! 😉
LikeLike
Aw, man. This is fabulous Jodi. /sniff/
I’m not crying!
… much.
LikeLike
You are too sweet, sid. 🙂 Thanks for the blog sweetness. I hope Daddy gets WordPress in Heaven. 😉 Hugs to you!
LikeLike
Beautiful!
LikeLike
Thank you, new friend. 🙂
LikeLike
This is such a beautiful letter, so open and poignant. And the photo is wonderful too, captures such a great moment. The Daddy missing never goes away, though the memories seem to get sweeter, I think.
LikeLike
Thank you, Lisa. You are so kind. I love that pic too. I’m the littlest baby, and it’s my sister next to me. I love how happy we all look. 🙂 And I agree, the missing never goes away. Thank goodness I have 10 years of memories to draw upon. I hope your day was filled with peace and love. 🙂
LikeLike
Jodi,
That was a nice tribute to your father. As me…being a father of a 2 year old daughter, I would love a tribute like that. I know your father is smiling down from heaven on this blog post.
Thanks for those words and Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there. Your girls do pay attention to you…even when you don’t think they do. LOL!
LikeLike
Thank you. 🙂 I have no doubt that your little girl (many, many, many) years from now would write something wonderful about you. There is something about having an amazing daddy that just brings out the sweetness in a girl. 🙂
LikeLike
Also, thank you for stopping by my blog. I thought people would like reading about the Reading Bucket List! LOL!!
LikeLike
You are very welcome! The idea of a reading bucket list was impossible to skip over! 🙂
LikeLike
A very thoughtful post: I liked reading it. Thanks for sharing your sentiments.
Best regards from southern Texas,
Pit
LikeLike
Hi Pit. 🙂 Thank you for the sweetness. I’m new to blogging to so it was nice having an outlet to say, “Hi” to Daddy. Hope you had a great day. 🙂
LikeLike
Wow, God bless your family.
LikeLike
Hey there, friend. I hope you had a terrific day today!! Thanks so much for the kind words. We’ve been through a lot over the years, but we are troopers. 🙂 Thank goodness for a deep abiding faith. It can get a person through anything. 🙂
LikeLike
Without a doubt. btw, hope you got Amazon straightened around. 🙂
LikeLike
I’m going to call them in a few minutes and raise hell!! Amazon has not met the likes of me yet!! 😉
LikeLike
Jodi,
I can relate to so much of the things your remember about your dad. Dad Days are hard. Thanks for stopping by my blog and reading my story of remembering my dad.I wish you peace today. Gail
LikeLike
Hi Gail. Daddy Day is hard, no doubt. It was my pleasure reading your story. Us daddy-remembering people have to stick together, especially on Father’s day. I hope you had peace today as well, new friend. 🙂
LikeLike
A really good Daddy is an earthly version of God – loving us no matter what. Sounds like your Daddy (and mine) figured that out. Thanks for sharing him with us Jodi. Betty Anne from PA
LikeLike
I have an aunt Betty Ann! Good name! 😉 Good daddy’s are the best. I’m so glad you had a good one too. 🙂
LikeLike
Keep up the heartfelt writing. The world needs a lot more honesty like yours.
LikeLike
Thanks so much, Betty Anne. 🙂 I really appreciate your kind words. How very sweet… 🙂
LikeLike
Beautiful tribute to your dad.
LikeLike
Thank you, becwillmylife. I hope, if he gets blogs in Heaven, that he enjoyed it. 😉
LikeLike
Powerful post.
LikeLike
Hi memyselfandkids. Thank you for dropping by. I hope you had a great day. 🙂
LikeLike
I enjoyed the visit and had a nice day. Hope you can say the same.
LikeLike
Glad to hear it and I can definitely say the same. 🙂
LikeLike
What a beautifully, honest post about your relationship with your father. It was such a pleasure reading.
LikeLike
Thank you, arbitraryambrosia. 🙂 You are very kind. I still miss him…
Thanks for dropping by and I hope you had a wonderful day.
LikeLike
Whee don’t have a Daddy with us either so whee shared our Mummy’s Daddy today. Whee are sorry to hear about your Daddy.
Whee lost Nugget a few years ago and he is in heaven too. Maybe he has met your Daddy. Whee hope he has because your Daddy sounds like a wonderful person and whee like to think someone is looking after Nugget up there.
Piggy hugs,
Nibbles, Nutty, Bingo & Buddy
xxxx
LikeLike
Hello, my furry little friends. I have no doubt that my daddy is playing with Nugget right now, even as I type. I’m glad you were able to share Mummy’s daddy today. 🙂 Kisses on all your furry little heads!!
LikeLike
Wow! I have a dad who’s around for once a year or two, so, this heartfelt piece had me “sniffing”. Somehow, I don’t know how it feels to have a dad who’s always there to protect you, fight for you, hug you, and show his love for you by being there. 🙂 In spite of being total strangers, I hope that you would believe me when I say that I’m glad that you’ve been blessed with a father who loved you and was there for you. And the much better thing is that in knowing that one day, you’re going to see him again – in heaven. God bless you, Jodi!
LikeLike
Awww…Mama Sel, your words are so beautiful. I was truly blessed to have him for 10 years, though I wouldn’t have minded a little more time. And yes, I am also blessed that I will one day see him again. I’m so glad I believe in Heaven! 🙂 God bless you too, sweet lady.
LikeLike
Oh I could write entire books about the adventures I’ve had with my dad. I’m blessed that he is still here and I’m glad to say that in two short weeks, he’ll be walking out of work for the last time. I’m hoping I will get to see more of my parents then because they will both be retired. Moving away from my parents was the hardest part of moving to this state.
LikeLike
I’m a bit jealous! I wish I had more time with my dad. I’m really glad that you still have both of your parents. What a true blessing. It was hard when I moved from MD to AZ, luckily Mom moved out here about 6 months later and now she lives just down the street. We went and saw a movie today. It’s nice having her close by. 🙂
LikeLike
Jodie I am so sorry to hear your very sad story. It brought a tear to my eye. In many ways Icould relate, having lost my Dad too. It is nice to have faith that we will be with them again one day for eternity. Sending Hugs & Blessings xo
LikeLike
Hi Claire. Thanks so much for your kind and heartfelt words. It’s hard to lose a Daddy, as you know all too well. Isn’t it wonderful having faith that we’ll get to see them again? Hugs and blessings right back at’cha. 🙂
LikeLike
Beautiful post. Thank you for sharing it.
LikeLike
Thank you, sweetie. It was nice having a way of talking to Daddy on Father’s Day. 🙂
LikeLike
Jodi,
Thank you so much. It’s good to see it from the other perspective. We lost our son three years ago to suicide from undiagnosed PTSD.
We, too, will always miss him, and we know that he’s there, with Jesus – and your daddy.
LikeLike
Oh my…I am so sorry. It’s horrible to lose a parent. Worse, I’m sure, to lose a child. Please know my heart goes out to you and my prayers will be with your family. It’s a blessing to know that our loved ones are in Heaven. We WILL see them again and they’ll be happy and whole and a peace. 🙂
LikeLike
This was so touching. I’m sure he knows how much you love him and he must be proud of you.
LikeLike
Thank you, doll. 🙂 What a kind thing to say. I like to think that when he peeks in on me that he’s happy with what he sees. 🙂
LikeLike
Wow…just wow. You never cease to amaze. You’ve given your dad the best 32 posthumous Father’s Day gifts ever: an incredible legacy.
LikeLike
Jeff….you are so damn sweet. Thank you so much. You just made me all sappy. I’m going to assume Daddy gets WordPress in Heaven. 😉
Really though, thank you.
LikeLike
Pingback: Young Rocker With Dad – Single Image Sundays « rsmithing
Thank you so much for listing my post on yours. 🙂 That is really very kind of you. 🙂 Looks like you had a great Daddy’s Day. Yay! 🙂
LikeLike
See, now you made me cry. I live on the opposite spectrum of this, my father beat me ( and possibly molested me) until one day when I was seven my mother came home to find he cracked me in the head so hard I was puking. They divorced, and I haven’t seen him or heard from him since. That was 30 years ago this summer. I love good dad’s.
LikeLike
Oh, Rants…I’m so very, very sorry that it was so rough when you were a child. That is so incredibly heartbreaking. I’m so glad that your mom stepped up and got you away from him. NO child ever deserves anything like that. I wish so much that your dad hadn’t been such an abusive ass. While life with my dad wasn’t always easy, I’m happy to say I have a lot of great memories to cherish.
I hope that you’ve found lots of other amazing love in your life that helps fill that daddy-void. Much love to you…
LikeLike
This is a beautiful tribute to your father. You said many things that I have often said to the darkness in the middle of the night. I lost my father 3 years ago. Father’s Day is still hard for me. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for that beautiful post.
LikeLike
Hi Sean. Thank you for your kind words. They mean so very much. And I am so sorry that you lost your dad. 3 years is such a short amount of time when it comes to missing a daddy. It’s been over 30 for me and I still miss him.
I hope yesterday wasn’t too hard on you. God bless and take care of yourself…
LikeLike
Jodi that was a beautiful post. Thank you for liking my “Father’s Day…”. I’ve poked around your blog a bit and found many interesting posts. This one, however, seems to tie it all together and really touches me.
LikeLike
Thank you so much. I’m glad you liked it (and the other insanity on my blog.) 🙂 And you are very welcome for liking your Father’s Day post. I wanted to support people who were writing about their Father’s day. 🙂
LikeLike
Awesome letter. Awesome. 32 years. That’s tough. I only got two years and it’s still hard, so I know. I feel ya. Great letter he would really enjoy it. 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you so much…I hope Daddy would like it. I’m so very sorry you only got 2 years. That is brutal. Daddy’s should be wonderful and live LOOOOONG and happy lives. Dammit!
I really appreciate it when you drop by. It’s always great seeing you here. 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: Young Rocker With Dad – Single Image Sundays « rsmithing
Happy belated Fathers Day to fathers everywhere!
LikeLike