Hey Pops

Hi Pops,

It’s occurred to me that I like to pride myself on making sure that people know how I feel about them — In like a deep down, open-soul kind of way. The idea of not expressing how you feel about someone to me, seems like an absolute cosmic travesty. Fortunately, this is not something that is irreparable. You see, I’ve hypocritically committed this travesty to someone I love dearly. It seems, that I have not explicitly explained to you how much you mean to me. Of course, I have said things like “I love you,” but what exactly does that mean? I’m baffled and flabbergasted I haven’t elucidated the aforementioned. I’m actually so shocked, I think I need to create new words: I’m baffermagasted and flabbered. I would say what I’ve done is akin to a ghost hunter obliviously living in a haunted house. Oof, the irony.

My first instinct in an attempt to explain my appreciation of you is to enumerate all of the enriching things you have done for me. I am eternally grateful for the exposure to some of the things I value most in life. What comes to mind at this moment are the times you read to Nick and me the classics of American literature when we were super-duper young before bed. Huck Finn, Treasure Island, Tom Sawyer, Swiss Family Robinson, and the list goes on. I’ll always remember how you would let us stay up late, always acquiescing our “ONE MORE CHAPTER PWEASE.” Undoubtedly, those stories were formative in my love for books and just a good ol’ story. Furthermore, I also think of the times you would improvise horror stories, of which I think of which such a great degree of reverence and fondness, have had a lasting impact. “And the door went CREAAAAAAAAAAK. And the boys walked towards the basement, but all of the sudden… IT WAS THE FART MONSTER!!!” to which Nick and I would scream. Man, what beautiful improvised shenanigans. I would not find it surprising if that is one of the reasons why I auditioned for UD’s improv team.  Upon further inspection though, I think that I would like to go a bit deeper than this. Firstly, it would take days for me to accurately convey and enumerate everything that I appreciate. Moreover, my brain is telling me that this is a bit of a self-interested way of explaining why you love someone – to explain it in terms of everything you’ve done for me. Even though everything is inherently self-interested, I would like to try and make sure I elucidate what it is about you, regardless of what you do for me personally, that I love.

I’d like to keep this as simple as possible, as I want it to be without room for interpretation and concise. Simply put, I love you because of your contrast to the cold and dark universe. There is certainly no other sentient sac of molecules on Earth that is like you. I cherish you character – the inherent playfulness, quiet humor, raw wit (MAN, I wish I had an ounce of that), hunger for knowledge, and a great capacity to understand. You’re a life-saving and hugely impactful human being. One of these weekends, after the graveyard/night shift at the hospital, we’ve gotta watch a late-night movie as was commonplace growing up.

I cannot put into words how grateful I am that you are my father,

Yours,

Neil