From Dad
“We did not touch your room for a long while. I told your mother it was practical. It was not practical. I wanted to walk past an open door and see your things.”
“I spent years wondering who would ever be good enough for you. Then I saw how you two look at each other, and I stopped wondering.”
“You can call me about anything, a flat tire, a leaky faucet or just a bad day. I will not always have the answer, but I will always pick up the phone.”
“Fair warning, I will be bragging about this for the next few years. To the neighbors, to my friends and to anyone who stands still long enough.”
“At dinner I say that you are doing well and change the subject to the weather. That is not what I think. It is all that will come out with other people there.”
“All those exams and clinical hours, and now you are a real nurse. Your patients will never know how hard you worked, but they will feel it.”
“Once you are settled in, I expect an invitation to dinner. I will bring dessert, and I will praise whatever you cook, even the vegetables.”
“Half our Christmas traditions started because you asked for something once and loved it. The cookies, the movies, the matching pajamas, so much of it came from you.”
“The world will sometimes ask you to be a little less of yourself. Please do not listen. Every bit of you is worth being proud of.”
“I have walked beside you my whole life, but never as proudly as today. When we reach the end of that aisle, I am not letting go. I am just making room.”
“Here is the best advice I have, and it is to keep dating each other. Even in the busy years, make time for just the two of you.”
“You teach the lessons in the book, and you also teach kids that they matter. That second lesson is the one they will carry with them for years.”
“I have seen how kind you are when you think nobody is watching. That is the truest thing about a person, and it makes me so proud.”
“My only advice is to laugh often, forgive quickly and never go to bed angry. You probably know all of this already, because you have always been wise.”
“I will probably send you home with leftovers every time you visit. It is not because I think you cannot cook. It is because I miss feeding you.”
“Always remember you are smarter than you think and loved more than you know. When you feel overwhelmed, remember whose daughter you are and straighten your crown. Have faith in yourself and never stop trying.”
“You always talked about the teacher who made you love learning. Now you get to be that teacher for someone else, and you will be wonderful.”
“Your students probably think you are about a hundred years old. To me you will always be the kid who lined up her dolls and taught them spelling.”
“Every year I call you on your birthday and sing, badly, whether you want me to or not. This year I wanted to give you something you can keep longer than a song.”
“In the darkest hour, when the demons come, call on me and we will fight them together. Stand tall, even if you fall. You are stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and more capable of achieving anything you set your mind to.”
“Even on your birthday, you will probably be looking after someone else. So let this card look after you for a minute, and remind you how loved you are.”
“There will be a lot of people at your wedding who love you. None of them have loved you as long as I have, and none of them are prouder.”
“Make your new place yours. Paint a wall, hang your pictures, burn a dinner. Every home I ever loved started out empty and a little scary.”
“They say you should marry your best friend, and today you are. I hope you laugh together every day, just the way you do now.”