At this point in my life, I’m considered an adult and responsible man. Yes, maybe sometimes I don’t completely act like it but that’s part of life right? As I’m growing up, I realised how much you have done for me. And I need to truly thank you, which is something I don’t think I’ve appropriately done to date.

Dad, thank you for telling me what I’m capable of, for giving me the support needed to build a dream to chase after. And for believing that I have the talent to reach my destiny. Mom, thank you for making me realise that I’m worth everything in this universe, that I must be treated like a king.

Dad, thank you for spending countless hours after you got home from work each night to teach things that I wasn’t going to learn in school for few years later. It kept me challenged and ahead of the class. Mom, thank you for giving me a shoulder to cry on when girls broke my heart. Thanks for assuring me that my world wasn’t crashing down around me – as much as I believed it was at the time.

Dad, thank you for coaching me from the side-lines before, during, and after every soccer game. I never had a truly good game until you told me I did. Mom, thank you for standing up for from the side-lines and yelling out at other moms when their sons tried to fight me on the field. Thank you for showing me to never back down against a bully and give them a taste of their own medicine.

Dad, thank you for getting mad at me when my report card didn’t have high enough marks. For making me realise that I can put more time in my work and improve my performance as a result. Mom, thank you again for getting to know my friends; all of them, and making sure that I was choosing wisely. That I was continually surrounding myself with respectable and responsible people through each and every phase of my life.

Dad, thank you for letting me help you work on the yard and showing me how to create my own wooden chair. I may have only had to do this once in my life, but at least I didn’t look like an idiot while I was doing it. Mom, thank you for passing on your belief in greater things that are entirely out of our control. For teaching me that everything happens for a reason and one day we will figure out why. That there are moments we experience that provide comfort and a sense of self that we can explain.

Dad, thank you for being strict with your rules. I missed out on some moments that could’ve led me down the wrong path. For standing your ground when I begged to go somewhere or do something, that in hindsight, could have introduced me to things that would destroy me.

Mom, thank you for laughing at my kindergarten teacher when they said I was going to struggle in life because I couldn’t gallop. For seeing throughout this nonsense and recognising that I was more capable than what acting like an animal in the hallway “proves”…

Dad, thank you for understanding when I took a leap of faith and for supporting me in my journey even if it doesn’t seem logical at times, for recognising that it’s what I need to do and hearing out me. Mom, thank you for your personality, for sharing your love of life, sense of humour, excitement for every experience, your ability to befriend strangers and your courage to look fear directly in the face until it backs down.

Dad, thank you for your love of sports, both in watching and playing them. For raising me as a boy and showing me what hard work looks like. For showing me that nothing comes easy and that countless hours of blood, sweat and tears really do pay off. Mom, thank you for showing me what a true battle looked like, for never giving up and for still being active, involved, a dedicated mother to my siblings and me.

Dad, thank you for showing me how a man should treat a woman. For proving that chivalry isn’t dead and giving me baseline expectation or very last of what I should accept. Mom, thank you for showing me how to fight for what I believe in, in life, love, and everything in between. For giving me the strength to stand up for myself and expect nothing less than the very best.

To both of you, Mom and Dad, thank you for showing me true love in its rarest form. What it feels like and how it can extend beyond life obstacle and challenges. Without each of you, I’d be nowhere near the person I am and the person I’m still working on becoming. There aren’t enough words in the world to express my appreciation but I think this is a good start. I owe you one.

Your Sincerely

Son