Dear Dad , Today I was at the shopping mall and I spent a lot of time reading the Father's Day cards . They all had a special message that in some way or another reflected how I feel about you . Yet as I selected and read , it occurred to me that not a single card said what I really want to say to you. You'll soon be 84 years old , Dad , and you and I will have had 55 Father's Days together . I haven't always been with you on Father's Day but I've always been with you in my heart. You know , Dad , there was a time when we were separated by the generation gap . You stood on one side of the Great Divide and I on the other. The Father-Daughter Duel shifted into high gear when you taught me to drive the old Dodge and I decided I would drive the 54 Chevy whether you liked it or not . The police officer who sent me home after you reported the Chevy stolen didn't have much tolerance for a stubborn 16 year old , while you were so tolerant about it , Dad , and I think that was probably what made it the worst night of my life. Our relationship picked up when I married a man you liked , and things really _ when we began making babies right and left . Somewhere along the line , the generation gap disappeared . I suppose I saw us and our relationship as aging together , rather like a fine wine. But the strangest thing happened last week . I was at a stop sign and I watched as you turned the corner in your car . It didn't immediately occur to me that it was you because the man driving looked so elderly and fragile behind the wheel of that huge car . It was rather like a slap in the face delivered from out of nowhere. Perhaps I saw your age for the first time that day. I guess what I'm trying to say , Dad , is what every son and daughter wants to say to their Dad today . Honoring a father on Father's Day is about respect and sharing and acceptance and tolerance and giving and taking . It's about loving someone more than words can say , and it's wishing that it never had to end. I love you , Dad. Love, Jenny What caused Jenny to write the letter ?
Getting along well with her father . Being away on previous Father's Day . Visiting a card exhibition at a mall . Failing to find a satisfactory card .