I strive to think otherwise. Every time your children say, "No, you are awesome!", we mean it. We wouldn't lie about something like that. That would get us nowhere.
So let me simply indulge you by saying that you are the best father we could possibly have. By writing this, I hope to break that shell that you have spent years building around yourself. Our mistakes are not pinned on you. They are pinned on us, and us alone.
Thank you for being there for us, no matter how often we roll our eyes, oblivious to the reality of things.
Thank you for raising us to treat others as we would want to be treated, no matter how often we seem to forget.
Thank you for gracing us with the privileges we have, no matter how often it seems we don't deserve them.
Thank you for introducing us to great music and cinema, without which we would trapped in the so-called allure of rap, dub-step, and sub-par horror flicks.
Thank you for the occasional morning smell of pancakes and bacon. I don't care if the mix comes from a box, they are the best pancakes on the whole damn planet (brownie points for guessing the reference, by the way).
And I personally thank you for opening me to the world of Dungeons and Dragons. Without that creative outlet, I wouldn't have developed this present love for fantasy.
And last, but certainly not least, I credit you with being my inspiration for becoming a writer. I had always loved to write since I was young, but who did that come from? You. I saw your writing, and said, "I want to become that." In all honesty, I haven't reached your level yet. But then again, writing is a pastime all to one's own. No writer can reach the level of another. So, I guess I should say that I hope to emulate the talent that you hold in the field of writing.
Too often, you put yourself down. A trait that I too have developed. But I am trying to break the shell of despair that I build. And I think you should too.
From your eldest son, with love that should be shown more often