Yesterday was my daughter’s 14th birthday. Judging by her Facebook wall cluttered with birthday acknowledgments from many of her 500+ friends, I’m guessing she did not want for attention at any point throughout the day. My wife and I did our best to commemorate her special day with the generous gift of an iPod Touch–something she’s been wanting for quite some time–and dinner at the restaurant of her choice. And while I had no doubt that she enjoyed her birthday and appreciated all the attention and gifts, I was surprised this morning by this post on my Facebook wall:
Hi Dad. 🙂 I just wanted to thank you for giving me such a great birthday. You’re the best dad ever and I don’t know what I’d do without you. Thank you for always fixing my electronics when I do something stupid to them, thank for all the times that you and I sat in the computer room until midnight just talking about life and all my problems. 😉 also, thank you for always helping me with my homework and driving me to school, every single morning! You seriously do so much for me and I used to take it for granted, but not anymore. 🙂 You’re an amazing dad and don’t let anyone tell you differently. I’d probably be one messed up teenager without you. So thanks for keeping me in line. 😉 thank you for everything today, I’ll never forget this birthday! You’re awesome!
Love always,
-Allie 🙂
As it happens, this unexpected and most welcome expression of her appreciation could not have come at a better time for me. As a husband and father who tries to do as much as he can to help out around the house with chores, meal preparation, homework assistance, schedule coordination, and everything else that is part of a hectic family life, it’s easy to feel like one’s efforts go unnoticed and often unappreciated. But sometimes, if we’re lucky, we do receive some kind of acknowledgment that our efforts do amount to something.
Thank you, Allie. You made my day today.