Dear Future Self

Dear Future Self,

When I graduated high school, I didn't realize how quickly life would happen. I thought I might go to college to "get the good grades and get the good job", because that's just what everyone does, right?

Well, my appreciation for continued formal education didn't really hit until later in life, but there was something I always knew that I wanted for myself.

When all of my childhood friends said that they wanted to become doctors, teachers, and policemen, I wanted a different kind of life...

I wanted to be married and I wanted to be a father.

Well... You can't win them all, as they say.

But I knew that I'd "won" in life when I met you.

From conception to fully-realized human beings, I've watched you grow.

I was there when you were born.

I was there when you were curious babies.

I was there for your first words, first haircuts, and first conversations.

I sang to you as infants and took naps with you after family dinners.

I dropped you off for your first days of school and came to celebrate you for your academic achievements.

You were my joy, coming home from work.

I did my best to be your provider, your protector, your personal celebrity, and even your "preacher" for a time.

Along the way, things got weird between your mother and I and, ultimately, our marriage ended.

But nothing could stop me from striving to keep the promises I'd made to you...

I did everything I could to give you a true sense of Love, home, and emotional availability.

Even though we don't currently live under the same roof, I remain committed to living a life that honors the purpose God gave me when He gave me you.

So much has changed since our Beginning, but one thing that never will is my heart for you.

While I've appreciated the dry macaroni couture, makeshift coupon books, and restaurant gift cards over the years, YOU have always been my greatest Father's Day gift.

You are the greatest parts of me and I will continue to feed those futures with all that I am.

To my legacy; Davion, Nayari, and Amaris ("DNA")...

No matter how old you get, or where you find yourself in the world, remember that Daddy loves you forever.