Dear Dad,
Imagine this: two tickets to a Yankees game, a front row seat on Broadway, Times Square right out your window, with the Statue of Liberty a mere ferry ride away. I write and layout for a local magazine, taking a stroll through Central Park when I need a break from my keyboard. I live with my husband Peter in our vintage flat. I know he wishes he could have met you. Our family consists of two kids, a tommy-cat named Rupert, a Bolognese puppy named Milo, and a gold fish named Lenny. My sister is a frequent visitor, occupying our guest room futon during her breaks from college. Ella is 19 now, dad. Mom and Pops finally bought their dream house on the North Carolina coast, they live there with their new English bulldog, Titus. Lucy, our great dane, lived to be 13. She's buried our old backyard. Rafiki lived about three years after I graduated, he's buried there too. Romeo kinda ducked out after Rafiki passed, but whenever I stop by our old house I catch a glimpse of that crazy old cat. We visit Chantell and Nikko often. Along with their two kids, Anna and Niklas. They live in Germany, where both kids were born and where Nikko was deployed. After I moved to New York, grandmama decided to give dating another go. She met Stan at Ingles and six months later they eloped. He's alright I guess. Except the kids say he smells kind of funny and I don't like his socks. I've never liked wool socks. Grandmother made it through the cancer. She's so strong, dad. Granddaddy is still going strong too, with his half-cut sweet tea and cheerios, trying to stay healthy. Aunt Jamie finally had the courage to leave her parents, she took the boys to South Carolina to be with her husband. I think she realized grandmother is really going to be okay. Aunt Kim is still clean, though we all think she went a little crazy once she turned 50. Autumn and Thomas finally got married. Though it took them about 8 solid years. They have one daughter, Riley. She's a doll, dad. Austin was probably the biggest surprise of all,graduating from the University of Alabama. We all knew he could do it if he just tried. The family, all of us, visit your grave every April. It's so hard to believe that you've been gone nearly three decades now. My son, Wyatt, recently decided that he wants to be a race car driver, like his grandpa, like you. Granddaddy tells me all the time that he sees so much of you in him. My daughter though, Kate, is the diva. It appears I will never escape my mother. So this is it, dad. This is what you missed. You missed the heartbreaks, walking me down the aisle, my son's first steps and my daughter's kindergarten graduation. You've missed out on so much. But all of this, all you've missed, pales in comparison to how much I've missed you. You know daddy, sometimes I think I'd trade it all just to see you again. I love you.
-Your daughter, Kayla.