My sister sent me a text while I was at lunch on Friday asking if we had remembered to get a card for our dad for father’s day. We had ordered and sent a present, after a long discussion about what to get (he is notoriously difficult to shop for), but we forgot to get a card.

So I am doing this instead. He will get the chance to read it and I have a medium here where I can say so much more than a Hallmark or Walmart card ever could.

To start, I am inherently not a huge fan of “Hallmark Holidays.” The mother’s days, father’s day, Valentines etc. that require a card and some half-baked appreciation for the ones you love. Buying a present and sending a card one time a year does not fully represent what someone means to you.

I have been blessed with an amazing dad, and he and my mom are perpetually in my corner and my biggest fans. A gift in the mail and a cheap card will never do justice in saying how much he means to my sister and me.

Maybe father’s day is a time to make them feel special and remind them how thankful we are, but why not do that all the time. I may not talk to my dad on the phone a ton, but that is simply because neither of us are very adept on the phone and it creates short conversations, but I know how much he cares and I believe he knows how much I appreciate him.

He taught me to throw a football. He beat me in countless basketball games in the driveway over the years until I finally grew taller than him (he still would beat me sometimes). He and my mom put both my sister and me through college and continue to support us as we make our way in the world. He is my champion and my hero.

In a time when so many people don’t have a dad in their lives for a myriad of reasons, I have been blessed with one that will forever root for me and lift me up when/if I fall (unless we’re playing basketball, then he’ll back me down and step over me like Iverson over Lue).

So woohoo its father day. I sent a present, we forgot a card, but that will never be enough of thanks. I will call and we will talk and then everything will go back to the way it was. He will support me. I will turn to him when I’m in need. One day is never enough and will never be enough. I appreciate my dad every day for everything he’s done for me and I always will.

I love you dad.