My dad: the monarch butterfly

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Dear Dad,

I have only known you for 24 years; for some, that is enough time to claim they truly know a person, yet I only began to really get to know you two years ago. For this, I want to ask for your forgiveness; I let our problems cloud my mind and keep me from knowing you. Now you are turning 53, and the time we have together grows shorter with each passing day. Every day I realize how alike we are, and that the very things I denied for so long are things I should cherish—because one day, those memories will be all I have left of you. Watching you grow older alongside Mom makes my heart ache more each day, knowing I can never reclaim the time I lost with you. I want you to know that I truly see you, and I have learned the following:

You are someone whom life—and the people around you—let down. You were a child who lacked the attention every child deserves. You were a boy with dreams of owning a horse. A boy who wanted to be a veterinarian. A boy who wanted to grow up to be a great man and a father. A boy who wanted to prove to the doubters that he could succeed. You were a brilliant child who lacked a bit of guidance and support. A child who needed psychiatric care—something that could have made your life completely different. A child whom Mexico’s *machista* society steered into the darkness.

It isn’t your fault; I understand that now. You are still that dreamer at heart, and I hope you never change. Age and the passage of time don't have to alter that. I want to help and support you so that the child within can heal and keep dreaming. I want to create more memories with you in the time we have left together.

I love you very much, and since I cannot express it out loud, I am telling you the way that comes naturally to me: by writing it down.

I hope everyone reading this knows and understands that my dad is a great person with a heart of gold, despite any mistakes he may have made. He is a man who has grown and evolved. My dad is like a monarch butterfly.