TO HANNAH

I know a girl she puts the color inside of my world
and she's just like a maze
where all of the walls all continually change.
And I've done all I can
to stand on the steps with my heart in my hand
Now I'm starting to see
maybe it's got nothing to do with me.
Fathers be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers be good to your daughters, too.

Boys you can break, you find out how much they can take.
Boys will be strong and boys soldier on,
But boys would be gone without warmth from a woman's good, good heart.

(John Mayer, Daughters)

It's hard to believe but this morning I woke up as the father of an 18th year old daughter. It seems like just yesterday when your mom and I brought home a beautiful, bald-headed baby girl from the Beaver Medical Center (we wondered if you would ever have any hair; no worries, God has crowned with grace and beauty). And today I am sitting in a coffee shop listening to John Mayer with tears in my eyes, grateful for all the incredible gifts you have brought into my life. Growing up in a family without any sisters, your presence in my life has taken me into places I could have never dreamed of. Hannah, thanks for putting the color inside my world:

the joys of shopping; (even in NYC and Chicago - and look out LA);
the trials of parallel parking (as they say the 4th time is the charm);
our annual August bike rides at Ohiopyle (we finally made it to the end of the trail);
the music of artists like John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw, Maroon 5, Mraz, Something Corporate, and Dashboard Confessional (you know I love those chords);
sharing cups of coffee at Border's or Starbucks (thanks for being the only one in our family who will drink the stuff with me).

Hannah - you are an incredible gift from God and it has been a joy these past 18 years being your father. It's blows me away to even imagine that God would entrust me with such a precious gift. Thanks for inviting me into your world and the more I know you, the more I love you. May God continue to bring much warmth from your good, good heart.

Happy Birthday Hannah!