Dear Dad,
Father's Day is upon us again and I send you tidings of respect, gratitude and love. Although every thought of you is accompanied by a warm glow of pride and admiration, I fear that you are taken for granted and do not know the complexity and depth of my feelings for you.
In your kindness, you have supplied me comfort and well being with generosity far surpassing your duty. You have freed me from the sickly pursuit of objects with your perspective on the real value of the material world and freedom. By your example, I have learned to appreciate knowledge and ideas, to love discourse and intellectual exploration and to eschew dogma as the foe of intelligence. My life is enriched with your gift of the love of music and books, mathematics and physics and philosophy. By imitating you, I have learned the humble joy of curiosity. For these riches which you have bestowed upon me, that will be with me forever, I am deeply grateful.
You have taught me virtue. Because of you, I never steal. In pursuit of your ideal, I have experienced the strength of truth and power of integrity. From you, I have received the fundamental tool for success, self-discipline. Working with you showed me dedication to my task and pride in my product. You taught me responsibility and removed my fear of hard work. You let me know that I can never conceal a shabby job from myself.
For you, I will always strive to be kind to others, always to help those in pain and never do another harm. Life with you has shown me how to be tolerant of others and understating of their unjust acts. Because of you and your example, I have based my ethics upon the principle of kindness.
You have taught me and loved me and the benefits of being your son are innumerable. When people note our resemblance in look, manner or thought, I glow happily because I think that, of the men I have known, you are the finest example I could ever follow.
More importantly, I love you and cherish our friendship above any other I have known. I am always pleased to see you. Your conversation cheers and enlightens me. At play, your casual, friendly style encourages camaraderie that surpasses any filial relationship I have ever seen and makes each encounter a delight.
I am proud to be your son and thank you very much for being such an inspiring Father's Day subject because you have given me the opportunity to have a happy and fruitful life. Happy Father's Day!
love & kisses,
TQ II