Six years ago, my husband’s life changed course for ever. His dad, Bill, left us very unexpectedly. And in honor of him, I wrote him a thank you note.

Bill,

Warren and I met when we were kids and I had the honor of knowing you for eight years. And I’m a blessed person because I knew you. 

But the thing I want to thank you for the most is the contribution you made to your son’s life, especially his role as a father. 

Warren once told me a story about how a kid was picking on him and you went to the door of the kid’s house and told them they were going to settle the dispute, right here, right now. 

It didn’t turn into a fight between the kids, but it did settle a situation that could have been a bad one for a long time. I appreciate that you went to battle for your son. And not to the authorities, but to the root of the problem. Person to person. 

Warren learned a great lesson in that situation. He learned that you can’t back down and wait for a governing body to take action. Action takes place at the source of the problem. And while we haven’t had that happen yet in our children’s lives, he has gone to bat for me personally more than anyone I have ever known. Thank you so much for setting that example. 

Another thing I want to thank you for is teaching Warren to respect others, especially women. He is kind and while he likes to debate, he never attacks a person’s character. And I can tell you that shows up best in our daughter. She has her moments of disobedience, but I’ve never seen her go out of her way to be disrespectful to anyone. She may be upset with a person’s actions toward her, but she doesn’t attack character. Thank you for teaching him about how strongly his words matter. Thank you for helping him teach me and our children the way to win hearts – kindness and respect. 

Thank you for making holidays special. I never met a person who got so excited about a Christmas tree. It was so fun to go with you and your kids a few times to get the perfect tree – a real tree. It’s a tradition that has lived on in our home. I’ll also never forget that Thanksgiving we got absolutely soaked at the Egg Bowl. It was one of the most fun experiences we had with you and Ann.

Thank you for making our wedding so special. You and Ann put on quite the party. We still get so many compliments on how fun our wedding was. And it was because it had your touch. I don’t think I had the opportunity to thank you properly for all that you did for us. But it was one perfect weekend. 

Thank you for sharing your love of music with me. I learned so much about classic rock and how music makes your day a little brighter from you. One of my favorite stories to tell others about you is how you took your dog to the record shop. It just fit that you would take her along for the ride. 

Thank you for welcoming me into your family. From the day I met you and Ann, I felt welcome in your home and lives. Y’all always treated me with respect and love. The day I really saw this happen was when I stopped by to check on Manny and to chat with you a few minutes. Two and a half hours later, we were still talking. I don’t recall what all we discussed, but it was the first time I really got to know you. 

Thank you for raising a son I’m proud to call my husband. He’s more like you than you’ll ever know. You did good. Real good.