Dear Daughter

Dear Daughter,

I am going to tell you something that I’m not supposed to admit as a parent; I don’t know everything. I never have. I don’t know what to do about a lot of things. It’s scary when you reach adulthood and you realize that everyone is just making everything up as they go along. No one admits that because it’s terrifying just to realize how little you know, much less admit it. It’s kind of a great lie that our whole society has silently agreed not to talk about, because if we acknowledge it we are incredibly vulnerable. It’s even worse as a parent because we don’t want to be vulnerable, we want to be strong and protect you and set a good example. It’s probably the most prevalent in parenting because there is no manual for how to do this.

I don’t know what is right for you. I do know what mistakes I made, and all I want to do is to protect you from those same mistakes and the pain that came with them. That means that I’m going to get things wrong occasionally. Like a general in war I will make a calculated decision that might be wrong. That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop. I will always do what I think is best for you. I will try to make sure that it’s what you also think is best as often as I can. This is not the last time that we’re going to butt heads in this way. It’s only going to get worse as you get older and we begin to diverge in our opinions more. It’s completely natural. I’m preparing myself for the inevitable time you will say that you hate me. Just know that I will always love you. We will survive this.

Love,

Dad