Dear Dad,

 

I don’t say that lightly. There was a time, back in 2016 and in the years before it, when I wasn’t sure I would make it through. You were the one who stayed. You were the one who showed up when it would have been easier for anyone else to look away. I have never forgotten that, and I never will. Everything I have built since then rests on the fact that you refused to let me go.

 

You shaped the direction of my path. My time in the military began with you, with the example you set and the man you showed me I could become. The work I went on to do afterward with AM300 came from that same place.

 

It’s only now, raising Addison and Camille, that I fully understand what you gave me. Every time I show up for them, every time I choose patience over frustration or presence over distraction, I am doing something you taught me first. You are the reason I know how to be their father. They have the dad they have because I had the dad I had. Despite how hard things got with Kathy, you never gave up on me. That resilience is the primary reason the girls and I have the relationship we have. They have told me many times that they know I never gave up. You gave and taught me that it was possible.

 

So this Father’s Day, I want you to know that my gratitude has never faded. Not once. You are the reason I am still here, the reason I have come this far, and the man I measure myself against every single day.

 

Thank you for all of it, Dad. I love you.

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Your #1 Son,

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Jesse

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P. S. And of course, below you will find the link to your Bass Pro Gift Card... However, I do not know if they even have Bass Pro Shops there in Pensacola... Please let me know for the future. Enter my email "jesse.stewart@mac.com" when prompted.

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