i have been racking my brain trying to think of the appropriate way to describe my dad, but no words or descriptions seem to do him justice.

he provided me with unconditional love, with protection, and the space to explore who i am and what i wanted to do with my life at my own pace.

he was truly my biggest fan.

my father was the most generous man i had ever met. besides the gift of unconditional love, he gave me the ultimate gift: confidence.

of all the gifts i have received, i have been most honored by this one. it is the greatest gift to ever give another person, to believe in them.

when i succeeded he stood back and took no credit, and when i failed he was by my side. what more could a child ask?

my baba taught me a lot, the most important thing being how to love. unconditionally.

he never missed an opportunity to tell me how much he loved me. in fact, every time we spoke or saw each other it was the first thing he said.

it feels nice to know that my baba and i didn’t leave a thing unsaid. we constantly told each other how lucky we were.

i was up late last night reading our old emails to each other and feeling comforted by the unabashed love in his messages.

my favorite one ended with: love is everything.

even though my dad and i said i love you probably every other sentence, i would give anything to hear him say it one more time.

in honor of my dad & this legacy of love, as you go about your day take the time to tell those who are important to you how much you love them and what they mean to you. and do it everyday, every chance you get. i can’t think of a better way to keep his memory alive.

…because i am sure he’s listening and because it was one of our favorite things to say to each other i’d like to borrow shakespeare’s words to remind my dad that i love him ‘dearer than eye-sight, space, and liberty.’