A.J.,
What a remarkable young woman you've grown into! It's nice to know that you still possess the same amount of determination that you did when you went through this before.
Your mother would have been proud of you, as I am. I look at you and I see a beautiful woman blossoming in front of my eyes. Beautiful on the inside as well as the outside. You don't give up, and you won't let the others give up either.
Morgan told me the other day that the only thing that's giving her the incentive to walk again is the fact that you have faith in her and Faith. Even when you're in severe pain, you always cheer them on. You never once let it get you down.
I have to confess, I would have given up a long time ago. I'm not as strong as you think I am. You've always been stronger than I have. When life got painful for me, I ran away. You faced the pain head-on and defeated it. I'm so proud of you.
I admire your ability to rely on others when you have to; your ability to ask for help when you need it. For most of my life, I've been forced to rely on myself because there was no one else.
You have made me so happy, little one. You can make me laugh and smile when no one else can.
I guess that pretty soon, I'm going to have to quit calling you my 'little girl'. You're growing up so fast. I feel like I blinked and you went from being the toddler hiding behind my leg to being the high school freshman that you are today. Jeez, where has the time gone?
I remember the day when I first introduced you to General Abernathy, who was one of your adopted godfathers. You were so shy in those days. You just would not come out from where you were hiding, no matter what I did. I even offered you plenty of bribes, but nope, you weren't coming out until you were good and ready. I remember the one piece of advice that he gave me that day. "Don't worry about her hiding right now. She's going through the shy stage, and when she blossoms, you'll wish that she had never gotten out of that stage."
Sure enough, once you got used to him, you'd come running whenever you heard him or one of the other guys coming. I hate to admit it, but they spoiled you, just like they should have. Like I expected them to. Always remember, my daughter, that true beauty comes from the inside, and no amount of scarring can detract from it. I know that the scar on your cheek bothers you, and I want to help you hide it, but then I remember what you had to go through when you got it.
I view the scar on your face as a badge of courage. It caused you a lot of pain, but you never once said a thing about it. I never heard one complaint out of you, no matter how much you were hurting.
You are such a wonderful little girl. You've only been home from the hospital for three days, and you're already caught up with your schoolwork. I particularly like the fact that when you're not busy with school or something else, that you hang around the infirmary with me, and are so genuinely interested in medicine. One day, my Baby Girl, you'll be an excellent doctor, if that's what you want.
Thomas told me the other day that he's been letting you help him. That he's letting you clean wounds and that he even lets you take care of some of the less damaging wounds by yourself, with him standing there to supervise. He's glad that you come over there and help.
I've heard from some of the guys that you're a great medic yourself, and they don't mind you taking care of the smaller cuts and superficial burns.
I love you so much, A.J. I don't know what I'd do without you, and according to these guys, neither do they.
I'll let you go for now so that I can get back to these reports that need to be done. I just had to let you know how I was feeling, and I'm too afraid to tell you to your face.
Love Always, Daddy
What a remarkable young woman you've grown into! It's nice to know that you still possess the same amount of determination that you did when you went through this before.
Your mother would have been proud of you, as I am. I look at you and I see a beautiful woman blossoming in front of my eyes. Beautiful on the inside as well as the outside. You don't give up, and you won't let the others give up either.
Morgan told me the other day that the only thing that's giving her the incentive to walk again is the fact that you have faith in her and Faith. Even when you're in severe pain, you always cheer them on. You never once let it get you down.
I have to confess, I would have given up a long time ago. I'm not as strong as you think I am. You've always been stronger than I have. When life got painful for me, I ran away. You faced the pain head-on and defeated it. I'm so proud of you.
I admire your ability to rely on others when you have to; your ability to ask for help when you need it. For most of my life, I've been forced to rely on myself because there was no one else.
You have made me so happy, little one. You can make me laugh and smile when no one else can.
I guess that pretty soon, I'm going to have to quit calling you my 'little girl'. You're growing up so fast. I feel like I blinked and you went from being the toddler hiding behind my leg to being the high school freshman that you are today. Jeez, where has the time gone?
I remember the day when I first introduced you to General Abernathy, who was one of your adopted godfathers. You were so shy in those days. You just would not come out from where you were hiding, no matter what I did. I even offered you plenty of bribes, but nope, you weren't coming out until you were good and ready. I remember the one piece of advice that he gave me that day. "Don't worry about her hiding right now. She's going through the shy stage, and when she blossoms, you'll wish that she had never gotten out of that stage."
Sure enough, once you got used to him, you'd come running whenever you heard him or one of the other guys coming. I hate to admit it, but they spoiled you, just like they should have. Like I expected them to. Always remember, my daughter, that true beauty comes from the inside, and no amount of scarring can detract from it. I know that the scar on your cheek bothers you, and I want to help you hide it, but then I remember what you had to go through when you got it.
I view the scar on your face as a badge of courage. It caused you a lot of pain, but you never once said a thing about it. I never heard one complaint out of you, no matter how much you were hurting.
You are such a wonderful little girl. You've only been home from the hospital for three days, and you're already caught up with your schoolwork. I particularly like the fact that when you're not busy with school or something else, that you hang around the infirmary with me, and are so genuinely interested in medicine. One day, my Baby Girl, you'll be an excellent doctor, if that's what you want.
Thomas told me the other day that he's been letting you help him. That he's letting you clean wounds and that he even lets you take care of some of the less damaging wounds by yourself, with him standing there to supervise. He's glad that you come over there and help.
I've heard from some of the guys that you're a great medic yourself, and they don't mind you taking care of the smaller cuts and superficial burns.
I love you so much, A.J. I don't know what I'd do without you, and according to these guys, neither do they.
I'll let you go for now so that I can get back to these reports that need to be done. I just had to let you know how I was feeling, and I'm too afraid to tell you to your face.
Love Always, Daddy