Dear Dad,
Today, I spent a lot of time selecting and reading the Father's Day cards at the shopping mall. They all had a special message that in some way or another reflected how I feel about you. Yet it occurred to me that not a single card said what I really wanted to say to you.
You'll soon be 84 years old. Dad, and you and I will have had 55 Father's Days together. I haven't always been with you on Father's Day, but I've always been with you in my heart. You know, Dad, there was a time when we were separated by the generation gap(代沟). You stood on one side of the Great Divide and I on the other.
The Father-Daughter Conflict shifted into high gear(档位) when you taught me to drive the old Dodge while I decided I would drive the Chevy whether you liked it or not. To my surprise, when the police officer sent me home after you reported the Chevy stolen, you were so tolerant(宽容的) about it because I had thought that would probably be the worst night of my life.
Our relationship greatly improved when 1 married a man you liked,and things really turned around when we began making babies right and left. Somewhere along the line, the generation gap disappeared. I suppose I saw us and our relationship as aging together, rather like a fine wine.
But the strangest thing happened last week. I was at a stop sign and I watched as you turned the corner in your car. It didn't immediately occur to me that it was you because the man driving looked so elderly and weak behind the wheel of that huge car. Perhaps I saw your age for the first time that day.
I guess what I'm trying to say, Dad, is what every son and daughter wants to say to their Dad today. Honoring a father on Father's Day is about respect and sharing and acceptance and tolerance and giving and taking. It's about loving someone more than words can say, and it's my wish that it never had to end.
I love you, Dad.
Love,
Jenny
