Dear Dad,

I turn 20 this summer. I’m getting ready to transfer to a Top 10 university and you’re not here to see me do it. Not because it was your ‘time’ but because, for some reason, you decided that someone else’s family was more important than your own. It’s been thirteen years and I still don’t understand, but I’m not angry anymore. I just hope you know what you’re missing out on. Three beautiful children, one amazing wife, and more than a million memories made without you in them. I forgive you. However, unfortunately, I will never be able to forget you. I hope you haven’t forgotten, either.

Sincerely,

Marisa, age 19