Season 2, Episode 5: In Your Daughter's Eyes

Mom. Dad. 

I wanted to let you know how truly grateful I am to be your daughter and to have the opportunity to make you proud. You two have tried to give me every opportunity to pursue my dreams and you’ve always told me that I could achieve whatever I put my mind to. You never told me that I couldn’t do anything. Other people tried to tell me things would be difficult and that I may not be able to do everything I wanted, but you always supported me in my endeavors, no matter how complex or obscure. You’ve always done your best to help me along my way, and you’ve supported me through every change of plans, loss of hope, and renewal of faith in what I believe in. Speaking of beliefs, I’ve got something to say about that too. Between the two of you, never once have you tried to ‘force’ me to align with any beliefs that you had; rather, you’ve encouraged me to become an independent thinker, and to be able to reason for myself, to sort the fact from crap, as some may put it, and ultimately to allow myself to shape my views, not anyone else. I’ve been thinking on this for a while now, but in light of the election, I’m finding myself more grateful than ever for everything that you’ve done for me. You have never told me that I couldn’t think a certain way, or vote a certain way, or believe a certain thing. You have never shamed me or tried to make me feel inferior for holding a different belief than you. Instead, you have pushed me to defend my beliefs, to make sure I was fully prepared to justify my logic to others who might not be so forgiving. You taught me to fight like hell for what I believe in, and to do the right thing when things come down to the wire. You taught me humanity, acceptance, compassion, and versatility, all with the admission that not everyone was going to see things my way, and that more often than not, that people weren’t going to be kind in light of that. 

Through every dream job that I cycled through, you were there. Through every performance, spelling bee, choir concert, talent show, and honor night, you were there. You saw me through my various relationships and had the decency (and maybe courage, because I may never know if you actually liked everyone that I dated) to never demean any of my boyfriends through high school (or middle school- if we’re counting Jacob). You got to know my friends, and you invested  both in them and in my relationships with them, hey, you even text them (@mom Amanda calls you Lisa with so much joy, it’s precious). You’ve been by my side through every part of my life, and you’ve disciplined me in ways that I probably haven’t even recognized yet. You helped shaped my Christian faith, something I can never thank you enough for. You embodied Proverbs 22:6 when it said “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” I’m old now. I’m not the four or five year old who cut off her pigtail anymore, I’ve grown up, and as the verse says, the things you have taught me have not departed from my life. You gave me every opportunity to go to Awana, to get up to Camp for volunteer weekends, to be a part of Impact for four years- you let them use our house when they didn’t have a home base to go back to- for me. Because you had a greater concern for my eternal life than you did for the hour’s worth of clean-up that the group coming over could mean. You were proud of me when I came home in the summer and recited my honor bible and super honor bible memory verse to you. You delighted in seeing me learn more about God just as much as I delighted in the opportunity to do so, because you instilled that delight in me. 

You’ve invested the last 26 years into my and Leah’s life, and I’m so grateful for that. Dad, I’m grateful that you told me again and again that you were grateful that God let you be my daddy, and that I truly could do anything if I worked hard. Mom, I’m grateful for your constant presence in my life (even if we argue and get frustrated with each other sometimes), and for the advice that you often gave me and that sometimes I wish I had taken (even though we both know I’ll never admit it to your face). You two have done everything you could to make sure that I grew up not feeling left behind, forgotten, or like I was being deprived of anything, while instilling the values of humility, honesty, and integrity into my life. You guided me to books and knowledge, and never told me that I wasn’t smart enough for anything I wanted to do. You let me follow the whims of my heart no matter how obscure (cake decorating?) and you never told me I couldn’t do something. You constantly tried to help me however you could, whether it meant introducing me to people who could potentially advance my career, giving me life lessons that you’d learned through your self-started business- that’s the other thing, Mom, I’ve never told you how proud I am of you for that. You’re amazing for taking that idea and running with it, and doing so well. Everyone you interact with tells me what an incredible woman you are, and we all know they aren’t just saying that to win me over; they truly mean it- flying across the country for college visits with me, listening to me spout off lines that I was meant to learn, videotaping me choreograph things for Choir, teaching me how to play solitaire, or throw a baseball, or even just something as simple as letting me cry to you when things didn’t work out the way I thought they were supposed to. You let me try my hand at every sport, club, hobby, and interest that suited my fancy, and you were proud of my performance regardless of how I felt afterwards. 

You gave me everything that I have, and you shaped me into who I am. 

You two were my constant supporters, my number one fans, and biggest cheerleaders throughout my life, and I think it’s high time that I gave you just a portion of the appreciation that you deserve. 

Thanks to you, I think for myself. 

Thanks to you, I am educated. 

Thanks to you, my creative spirit is never going away. 

Thanks to you, I have a sense of humor.

Thanks to you, I have always been provided and cared for. 

Thanks to you, I am who I am. 

Thanks to you, I am able to love others. 

Thanks to you, I am able to lead others.

Thanks to you, I am able to respect others. 

Thanks to you, I am able to understand others. 

Thanks to you, I am independent of the opinions others may have of me, and I will never stop trying to achieve my dreams. 

Thanks to you, I will go forth and conquer the world. 

Thanks to you, I have learned to be ambitious, but more importantly driven; intelligent, but more importantly wise; passionate, but more importantly authentic. 

Thanks to you, I have an unwavering faith in a God who is bigger than all the things I could ever want or need, and who will guide me in my ways. 

You are the ones who have led me this far, and now, as I’ve taken the first steps towards independence, I want to be sure that I give you at least a portion of the credit that you deserve for every success in my life up to this point. 

I will always be your Twirly Girl and Punkin, no matter how old.

I love you more than I love Cats, the country of England, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Harry Potter, and Hot Wings combined (that’s quite a lot). 

Love, 

Squidget