A Long Letter to my not yet concieved child . . .

Dear Son and/or Daughter:


I Love you.

Even though I've never seen your beautiful face, held your soft hand, seen your cheerful smile or wiped your first tear, I love you. And I will always love you. And you should always know that.

I have dreamt of you all my life. I have dreamt of how beautiful you would be, how smart you would be, how funny you would be, how great you would be. I have dreamt of the many good and bad times we would share. I have dreamt of the first time we looked into each others eyes, the first time you call me daddy and your first steps. You have been on my mind for as long as I can remember, and now that you are here, you will continue to be in my thoughts each and every day. You are a dream come true.

You are the greatest gift I have ever been given. I am forever indebted to God and your Mother for making this dream of mine a reality. I love your Mother dearly. She is the strength that has kept me going and she will be just as strong for you. I cannot love you without loving your Mother, and I will love the both of you till the end of time. Losing either either of you isn't something I ever would be able to handle. Understand that your Mother and I will not always agree, but we will always agree on this: God was kind to us by bringing the blessing of you into our life. And no matter what happens between the two of us, know that you are the greatest thing that ever happened to both of us.I promise to cherish you as if you are the greatest gift I have ever received.

Despite my love for you, I am fully aware that we too, will not always see eye to eye. Please know that I never want to hurt your feelings and I am sorry for the many times I'm sure I will. Everything I do, I do for you. The rules I set are not to limit your joy, but to prepare you for a troublesome and tumultuous world. When I say "no" it's not because I wish to be mean or keep you from having fun. You will learn over time that if I could have said yes every time, if I could have given you every want or desire you ever dreamed of, that I would have without hesitancy.

But my job is to be your parent. And I will carry out that job in a fashion that I will be forever proud and able to hold my head high that I did the best I could at being a parent for you. As much as I want to be your best friend, you must understand that being your friend comes second to being your Dad.

I will not have all the answers even though I will sometimes act like I do. I want to be the man you look up to each and every day. I want you to be as proud to say "that's my dad" as i am to say "that's my child". I will help you in every way I can. And even when I can't help you, I will be there to comfort you when you try and fail and support you each time you try and try again. Keep trying! It is the only way to achieve success.

And even though I haven't met you, I know you will be a valiant success, a beacon of excellence and achievement. You will get there by trying, doing, winning and losing, but you will get there, and I will be there every step of the way to give you whatever help I can. And when you shine, when you rise to the top of the many podiums you will stand upon, don't worry if you never mention me for you being you is the greatest acknowledgement I could ever receive. Shine bright!

There will be people in your life who tell you you aren't as wonderful as I say you are. Know in your heart that God has never made anything that wasn't wonderful, and when he made you, he created wonderful defined. Be proud, yet humble. Know that with all that you have you have a responsibility to give back more. Know that with all your talents and successes, if you are the only one to have benefited from them, they were of of little use at all. So when the world tells you you can't, show them you can and remember to be grateful that you could.

You will have many special people in your life. Some will last for a long time, some will last for a little. Of any and all these people require that they respect you not by the way you demand that respect but by giving them the respect you feel you deserve. But be able to know the difference. Know that no matter how much we wish to have people in our life, they sometimes don't deserve that privilege. Respect for self is where respect for others start. And one day, I pray you will find someone who will make you feel just as special as your Mother has made me feel. And one day you will want to share the rest of your life with that person. Know that I may not always be number one in your life, but I will always be the first to be there when you need me. My love for you has grown each day since the first day I dreamt of you. And it will never subside. Ever.

And for all that I have written to you, promised to you, given to you, shared with you, I only ask for one thing. I only ask that when the day comes, that you will write a long letter to your not yet conceived child (my grandchild), that simply starts as such:

I love you.