Personal Names

I have been posting to this blog for a least a few months now and I
have always treated it similar to an online diary of sorts. I have
placed a lot of my thoughts and ideas on the site without much
thought of consequences. I also decided a long time ago not to use
personal names on the site because I did not want it stumbled upon in
web searches. I have written about my family and friends on my site
and did not want them to realize that I may be posting situations of
my life on the Internet.

I guess the reason for not wanting to know if others were reading my
blogs was that it may affect what I decide to post on my blog. I have
this fear that if someone discovered what I posted and didn't like
it, I was afraid of hurting them. So, I tried not to use personal
names to describe my scenarios. Well, I know this may get me in
trouble some day, but the reason I am discussing all of this is
because there is something I have always wanted to do for my
daughter. I wanted to post an open letter to her in case she ever
stumbled upon this site in the future. I will not tell her about this
site, but someday it will be discovered and I want her to know more
about her dad.

So, here a letter from a father that loves his daughter very much and
wants her to know how proud he is of her.

--------------------

Ashley,

I just wanted you to know how very proud I am to be called your
"father". I took on the responsibility eleven years ago, but did not
take the duty seriously until after your mom and I divorced. It is an
extremely difficult job to raise a daughter in our current times. I
want to ensure you will grow up as a responsible and loving
individual in this world. The key word there is INDIVIDUAL. You are
special and unique and there is only one of you in this world. Do not
ever let anyone tell you otherwise. I know the pressure of family and
friends is hard sometimes. It will be even harder when you get older,
but remember you will always have me by your side to help you
whenever you need help. I make this promise to you here and now. You
will not even need to ask for my help, because I will be there
constantly in your life communicating with you and I will know when
you need help. I have so much to learn in life and I want to pass on
as much knowledge as I can to you. I want you to have a better
childhood than I did growing up. I don't mean with just the physical
belongings in life, but with the emotional and spiritual needs as well.

I know that if you stumble upon this site, you will start to read all
of my previous postings. I do not know if any of them would ever
offend you, but you have to understand that everything I have ever
posted as been as true as I can be to myself. The language and words
I chose were carefully thought out and not just randomly typed. If I
have cursed, it is because the feelings were so strong that the only
way to describe them were with strongly chosen words. This is
extremely important. "Do not ever sacrifice your feelings or creative
ideas to not offend other people." No matter who is offended. If you
need to express yourself in a certain manner, then make sure you do
it in a manner that is true to yourself. I gave this great thought
when I was posting some of my past thoughts. I could have changed my
language, but then it would have been filtered thoughts that I was
presenting and I would have felt cheated. I could not do this to
myself and I do not want you to ever cheat yourself either.

This is my first letter to you, but it will not be my last. I love
you with all of my heart and soul and will be there for you at all
times. The love between a father and child is special and can never
be replaced. I intend to show you this love throughout your life and
teach you how to show this love to your future children.

Love,
Daniel