My Dad's 60th Birthday Present.
Thursday, April 23, 2015 |
| (Little me & my dad) |
As far as presents go, this year I wanted to do something different. I know he always gets a plethora of gifts (because so many people love him!), but this year, I wanted to give some of the people in his life an opportunity to show their love for him in a different way.
I know he wanted a celebration where everyone in his life could be there and meet one another to share all the memories, but financially and tangibly, it was difficult to make that happen. But because I know him and his vision, I was determined to make it come true, at least some part of it. I knew there had to be another way to bring it all the back… the memories, anyway.
I asked him for his email password to “clean up” his email. ;) Even though I got rid of 20,000 emails and actually cleaned his email up, I used it as an excuse to find all the email addresses of the people on my list that I could find. When I couldn't find their emails, I resorted to scrolling through all 4,000 of his friends on Facebook for people’s contact information. It was crazy, but like I said, I was determined!
Little by little, the letters started coming in. Some left me dying and literally laughing out loud because I couldn't contain myself. Other letters made me tear up a little. Some were short and sweet. Others were pages long.
All the things they were saying about my dad. Reading them made me feel so proud that he's my dad. I mean, I know how awesome he is, but just to see all this things he's done for everyone and how he's been there for all these people when they've needed someone... was just so amazing. I feel so humble and blessed that this great man, was in fact, my father.
From around the globe, a total of 65 emails and facebook messages were received to honor my dad on his special day. I know he doesn't need to know, but if he ever needed to know what kind of legacy he lives and he'll leave... this was it.
I had so much fun collecting them. It was A LOT of work over a three months, but it was worth it. :)
Happy 60th Birthday, Dad. I love you.
-Gardenia Rose
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