Most of the time, it seems like I like Mum a lot better. Believe me when I say, I love you all the same.

Actually, I don’t know how to begin. We daughters always go way back with our dads. Lots of history, lots of memories and a hell lot of inside jokes and pranks. There are days when we decide we’ve got the best dad in the world and days when they just don’t seem to understand. Thanks for pissing us off and making us wish we’d never have to talk to you again. But I’ve got a long list of thank yous to say. So here’s a list of things I’m thankful for and please know, if I wanted to include everything, I’d never finish this.

Thank you dad, for the times you could have yelled but decided against it. Like when I bought the phone you thought was a bad idea and it conked off in less than a week. And when the hundreds of dollars you paid for tuition didn’t reflect much in my report card. And for the embarrassingly low grade on that math paper which I was particularly nervous about.

Thank you dad, for the times you could have been calm but didn’t let it slide. Like when I didn’t understand you bargaining for a mere 50 cents and you taught me the value of hard earned money. And when everybody else was failing physics too but you told me “everybody is not my daughter so I don’t see why I should be concerned about anyone but you”.

Thank you dad, for being the person who fixes. Like when you made calls to Apple tech support because I couldn’t figure out why my phone was acting up. And when you explained the uses of firewalls. And when you advised me to use different passwords for different accounts because there are “people out there trying to buy your privacy”.  From helping me print my homework to explaining the basics of Excel.

Thank you dad, for fulfilling my whims and fancies when it meant you’d have to spend a little more time on the accounts and cut back on other things to let me have it. Like the new iPhone and the subscription to the childish magazine I “just had to have” when I was 12 and the cool electronic diary when I was 14 and the laptop when I was 16 and all the hair dyes and salon trips when I was 18.

Thank you dad, for all the possessions I have; from the clothes on my back to the food that I eat. It may be your duty but thank you for fulfilling your duty impeccably and going beyond when there have been men out there who simply ignored it or were contented with doing the bare minimum.

Thank you dad, for never walking away, even when you were embarrassed I was related to you or appalled that your daughter was capable of some of the trouble she got into. Like when I skipped classes or the times when teachers told you that your daughter wasn’t capable of much.

Thank you dad, for defending me even when we were outnumbered by a crowd. For believing that there is truth in your daughter’s words even when you were told otherwise.

Thank you dad, for being a complete weirdo I could laugh at and with. For acting like you’re 5 in my company and bringing yourself down to my level so I never felt alone even as the only child. For giving me a brother in you when I had no siblings to speak of. For the times you sat down and made paintings with me and we argued on the colour of leaves in autumn and the times you cheated in the board games and won. Thank you for setting a great example as a father while still managing to cheat once in awhile to pull my leg.

Thank you dad, for the times you allowed me to take my own decisions, giving me faith in myself by keeping faith in me. Like when you allowed me to take trips with my friends. And when you allowed my numerous male friends despite our modest and conservative background.

Thank you dad, for the times you questioned my decisions so I could see the stupidity in some of them and in others, a renewed strength and belief that I was doing the absolute right thing. Like when I wanted to dye my hair purple and when I thought being a lawyer was the ideal career for me.

Thank you dad, for not caring what others had to say about your parenthood. Because you’re fatherhood seems perfect to me. Thank you for being undeterred about what others had to say and think about your decisions and mine, our relationship together and always ruling the fear of foreign opinions out of the decisions we made.

Thank you dad, for financing my education when there are girls out there not believed to be capable of anything beyond the kitchen. For being able to stand for my rights when I couldn’t, when you were told that I had no rights for my gender.

Thank you dad, for finding pride in the fact that you’re raising your daughter no different from a son.  For being a silent feminist and advocate of my success. For seeing no reason that I should be any less than a man in the workplace and encouraging me to go out there and seize the day. For showing me that failure is a stepping stone to success and not fear it.

Thank you dad, for the short dresses you let me wear and knowing when to implement tradition and when to move forward with a modern outlook. For the moderation in your upbringing. For the precarious balance of everything you maintained throughout. For the relaxed restrictions and limitations you set on me. For the rules you allowed me to set for myself.

Thank you dad, for being so afraid to lose me. For being excited yet apprehensive to see me grow up. For looking forward to, yet dreading my marriage. For being unable to prepare yourself to be away from me and not see me every day.

Thank you dad, for being my father. Without you, I am nothing. And of course, I love you.

Any man can be a father but it takes a special someone to be a dad.