A Letter to My Daddy

Daddy,

Today marks 22 years since we almost lost you. 

July 6, 1990 - I was a knobby-kneed, string bean, mousy haired, almost 8 year old little girl who loved her daddy more than anything in the entire world.  It was a beautiful summer day.  We were going to go to the pool.  But all that changed when my mom got the call that no wife, especially that of a police officer, wants to get.

You'd been shot in the line of duty.  You were hit in the neck.  And it didn't look good.  

There's a lot of that day that I don't remember, and a lot that I do. 

I remember going to Aunt Shirley's house and jumping on the trampoline for hours while you fought for your life on an operating table.

I remember finally getting to talk to you on the phone that night and my first question to you was, "Are you in Heaven?" 

I remember the doctor's saying you were a miracle.  The bullet rested on your carotid artery.  How you survived, they didn't know.

I remember the reporters at our little yellow house.  I remember seeing you on the news and in the paper.  I remember you getting awards and honors...meeting the governor. I remember them calling you a hero, and thinking how stupid they were if they just figured that out...you'd always been my hero.

I remember you not being able to sleep.  I remember you fighting to get back to normal.  I remember you put the bullet in a paper weight because you were awesome like that. 

I remember saying to myself, "I will never marry a police officer."  (God has a sense of humor.)

Most of my life, when this "anniversary" rolls around, I would think about how my life would've been without you. 

You would've missed this:

You would've missed this:


Hannah's Birth



Eli's Birth

 

Morgan's Birth



You would've missed Eli's first Hokie football game:

You would've missed Morgan's first vacation:

Daddy, all these years I thought about all the things you would've missed.  

Then it dawned on me.  

These things would have never happened.  

Without you, there would be no Mr. DDA.  There would be no Eli, Morgan, & Hannah. 

My life, as I know it, simply would not be.  

My heart is overflowing with thankfulness today.  Because without you, there would be a giant hole there that no one could have filled.  So many cop kids don't get the chance I got - to appreciate what they have without losing it.  

I know I say it all the time, but Daddy, I love you with all my heart.  I could not ask for a better father, friend, Pawpaw, role model, mentor...  I never could've imagined what these 22 years would have brought. 

I'm so glad God let me keep you.