Daughter Stumbles Upon a Dedication Her Father Once Wrote for Her. What She Found Was Heartwarming
Parents and their children share a unique bond and even though some fathers can be tough on kids, their love ultimately shines through. Reddit user u/curly_snack shares a similar relationship with her father as he never expresses the love he has for her, but small actions at every step bring out the affection he harbors in his heart. The father-daughter duo was close while she was growing up, but after Lea entered her teens, there was some distance. Recently, while going through her family library Lea stumbled upon a dissertation, that her father wrote back in his youth. In the dissertation, she found a dedication in which he has written heartwarming details about the gratitude he has for both his wife and daughter.
The post began with the daughter talking about her father and the relationship both of them have with each other. Lea wrote, "My dad is a pretty private man. He doesn't really know how to express his feelings, and I got that from him. We were close when I was a kid, but then I turned into a teenage girl and I think he didn't know how to deal with that. It's gotten better now, but we still don't get along the way we used to." The dissertation that she found came as a total surprise to her, as her father rarely talks to his family about his past. But, the fact that he owned a copy of it, implies that the document held a lot of importance for him.
The things that he had written about his wife and daughter were immensely moving. He has never been a vocal man when it comes to his feelings so seeing him expressing his love like that was a unique experience. "It kinda feels like a punch in the gut. To me, he was always the type of person to show affection through actions rather than words, e.g. teaching me how to ride a bike or going with me to the cinema. He never tells me upfront, that he's proud of me or that he loves me and that's alright, because I know anyway. But it was so unexpected seeing him so openly mushy towards me (and my mom) on such an official document, that I thought I had misread," Lea wrote about her reaction.
After thanking his instructors on the dedication page he turned to his wife and stated, "I would like to thank my wife, for supporting me all along this year of masters, for making sure I was never short of encouragement and dessert to conduct my studies. I thank her for reading and commenting on this work, finding the 'coquilles' and correcting my style. And above all, I thank you for filling me with love." He then mentioned his daughter and with just one line became the father of the year. He thanked Lea for "encouraging gurgles and smiles." Ultimately, that was all he needed to keep going.
Users in the comment section adored the dedication. u/CPNZ suggested, "Just gurgle and smile next time you see him - but seriously, parents often are uncertain how much you want them around or to be left alone...have the conversation!" u/aDNA03 shared a funny incident and wrote, "This is so sweet! My dad was doing his PhD when I was I was born and listed my mom, grandparents, etc. on his thesis so I asked why his precious newborn wasn’t included and he said 'Because you did the opposite of help.' "