I found out this morning that one of my dear friends lost her father last night. It was a big shock to the whole family. My whole heart goes out to them right now.

This is one of those times that it’s really hard for me to be over one thousand miles away from where I grew up. A huge part of me wants to be able to give my friend a huge hug and help her out any way I can.

Another big part of me wants to be back in my childhood home and give both my parents a ginormous hug and let them know how much I love them, in a way that you just can’t convey through texts, emails, or phone conversations.

It’s funny to look back now at my own relationship with my dad. We definitely had some very rough patches that may or may not have had anything to do with those crazy hormonal teenage years. But I have really grown to appreciate my relationship with him as I have gotten a bit older and have had some wonderful moments and conversations with him that I wish the 14 year old version of me could have foreseen.

It’s even more amazing to me how much my relationship with both my parents has improved since Evelyn was born.  There is nothing like knowing the love you feel for your own child to put the whole picture in better perspective.

Here’s one of my favorite pictures from my wedding. Jared and I are not in it. It’s my dad, after the Daddy-Daughter dance at our reception, after her made me cry and then he had to go sit down. It always makes me tear up a little remembering that moment.

(My parents don’t regularly check my blog, so he MIGHT not find out that I posted this on the internet for everyone to see. If he does, he’ll still love me anyway. 😉 )

So, after much reflection throughout today, I just wanted to publicly say that I love you, Mom and Dad.