Disclosure: I have partnered with Life of Dad and Pampers for this promotion.
Dear Son:
Thanks for making me a dad. It is the “job” I am most grateful in the world to have. And I only have it because of you, so #ThanksBaby!
You were born at the end of May, so we got to celebrate our first Father’s Day within a few weeks. That first Father’s Day will always be the happiest Father’s Day of my life.
Did you know you were our miracle? You have two dads, so the most affordable option for us to become dads was to try to adopt a baby. We worked for years to get everything in order so that you could come to a home ready for you! The very first thing you taught me was that no mountain was too big to climb: I thought the adoption process would be an insurmountable challenge, and yet, one step at a time, you came into our lives.
I know my job is to teach you everything. The biggest reason for teaching you is so that you can survive without me. I never want to be apart from you, ever, but I know that is not practical, and I know I want you to have the best life possible. Therefore, please know that everything I do, is designed to give you the skills to survive to the best of your ability without me. I can’t do your laundry for you forever after all!
And as a dad, I am thankful for all you have taught me! I did not realize that was part of parenting, that the child would teach the parent. You taught me to be humble and to learn to forgive. You taught me that I am no longer number one. Wow, that was a hard lesson to learn. We have a wonderful and large family, and I do not always see eye to eye with everyone. And it no longer matters. You matter. My disagreements with your Aunts, Uncles, and maybe Grandparents become unimportant because all that matters is that their love be in your life as much as possible. You taught me to forgive others, and also to forgive myself. I am still in shock that at my advanced age I am still learning!
You taught me that my love for my child was a stronger love than I could ever feel before. You taught me that I am stronger and tougher than I had imagined. I found out I would go to the ends of the Earth for you. And you taught me that worrying about the small stuff was no longer necessary!
You showed me how smart you could be, at the Zoo, when you explained everything in the bug exhibit. I almost cried with pride and happiness. Now you are 14 and I find that I am still learning how you can pull at my heart strings, like when you performed in the middle school play this year and I started to cry because I am so proud of you.
Lastly, dear son, every day is like Father’s Day because I have you. Here’s to hoping that we keep teaching each other life’s valuable lessons for many more years to come!
Love, daddy Mitch
I was inspired to share this in celebration of Father’s Day, and courtesy of Pampers:
When a baby is born, a dad is born. This Father’s Day, Pampers celebrates that incredible feeling little ones bring to the hearts of dads through unconditional love.
Pampers is helping Dads, on Father’s Day, and throughout the year, to remember that our babies made us dads, and gave us these new and special feelings to enjoy forever! As a dad, we get to embrace our new role in life, and be the best role models for our children! Thank-you Pampers for recognizing dads, for appreciating all the things that we do, big and small, for our kids, to help them to have the greatest life possible.
Here is the #ThanksBaby video Pampers has released. It wonderfully captures the amazing relationship that is created by the birth of your baby, and signals that the joyous journey of fatherhood has begun:
For more than 50 years, moms and dads have trusted Pampers to care for their babies’ happy, healthy development. Pampers offers a complete range of diapers, wipes and training pants designed to provide protection and comfort for every stage. Visit www.pampers.com to learn more about Pampers products, join the Pampers Rewards program, and find ideas and information to help your baby get the most out of love, sleep and play.
Follow Pampers for more information on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram!
Please join Pampers and I by tweeting why you are most thankful for your baby with the hashtag #ThanksBaby!
Lastly, I have always, and will continue to tell my son that no matter how big he gets, he will always be my baby. And he did get big, he is now taller than both of his dads:
This is so sweet and you have a wonderful family. Being a parent is the most wonderful thing in the world and I hope you have a wonderful Father’s Day!!
This is just about the sweetest thing I’ve ever read. I enjoyed reading your story so much!
From one father to another, I love this. There’s something about being a dad that you cannot fully explain to anyone else. You have to feel it for yourself.
This is such a heartfelt letter and your son is very lucky to have a dad like you. I hope he is getting you something special but I am sure you won’t care if he doesn’t.
OH Mitch! You made me cry! I love that you guys are such great dads! I know your son is very aware of how lucky he is! And he is getting so tall and is handsome as ever!!!
This is such a sweet post! Being a parent really is unlike anything else we experience in life.
Woah he is getting super tall! What a beautiful story, I love reading letters from parents to their kiddos. I think this is great and what a wonderful campaign by Pampers!
This is so sweet! This is a great campaign by Pampers and such a sweet letter you wrote here.
That was truly a beautiful letter! I am wishing you the happiest of Father’s Days. You definitely deserve to be pampered 😉 And, gosh, how tall your son has gotten! He’s probably not done growing yet either!
This is the sweetest thing i’ve read all day. I’m wishing you a happy Father’s Day.
What a beautiful letter! Best wishes for a Happy Fathers Day to you!
This is such an inspiring story. I am happy that being a dad has made you appreciate things so much more!
This is such a sweet post! Love that Pampers has this campaign. Kids really can change our lives.
Loved this post so much!! Your son is so lucky to have such wonderful parents…just as you are to have him!! Your smiles in the photos are pure joy!
How wonderful that you all adopted. So many kids need homes, you all blessed a little one by giving him one.
What a amazing and touching story. Not many have such a special story to tell for father’s day!
Being a father, I have no doubt, is a very special thing for you and it shows! That boy is blessed to have you!
This letter is so touching. How unique is it that on Father’s Day we find the fathers giving thanks to their kids? That is really awesome. It’s true, you can’t be a dad without a child.
Now I’m crying, your heartfelt post clearly shows the love bond your family shares
What a heartwarming post! Being a father has its challenges, same as being a mom, but more. So much more. I miss my role model and my hero. My father passed away 25 years ago and it still hurts. Your son is lucky to have you as a dad. May you have the happiest Father’s Day.
Oh my! You made me all teary reading your post, what a lovely family you have.
This post touched my heart! You poured out your feelings and it really made me feel all the love you have. It is not common for dads to be showy with their emotions, but oh, not you. You are such a great dad and your son is super duper lucky to have you and your husband as his parents.
This is such a beautiful post. And these sweet photos! Happy Father’s Day Mitch!
What a beautiful post! Hope you had a wonderful Father’s Day! Your son is so lucky to have such loving parents
Such a Beautiful and Sweet post. As A parent I love the events in our life like this and I love to read and heard a beautiful message from our loved ones.
Hi Mitch! I know you’re an awesome blogger and I’m sure you’re a great dad! Hope you had a great Father’s Day!