Dad
You’ve spent my entire life giving to me. Everything you’ve ever done for me has been so I can live comfortably and happily. You’re the reason I’m breathing, you’re the reason I am where I am today, you’re the reason I can love, you’re the reason why I’m happy. You’ve always given. The most I can give back to you is pride in me, and God damn I’m working my best at making you proud.
You’re making a choice to deploy to Afghanistan again for a year…to miss a year of your baby daughters life, to miss a year of my life, to miss a year of all our lives, and I understand that you’re serving our country…but you are making this choice so you can get away from problems at work.
You can dodge the words and live through the harsh words and actions of your coworkers, but you can’t dodge bullets and bombs. I need a dad to be there for my wedding when I get married, to meet his grandchildren and love them as much as he’s loved me, to see me get my degree, and to give me a chance to make him proud.
The scariest thing in the world is knowing that my dad can lose his life at any given moment, and he might never see me give back to him everything that he’s given to me. I love you so much dad, and If you do deploy for another year, I better see you walking off that airplane instead of carried. I’d give back everything you’ve given me for you to change your mind.
