Dear Alessandra (Alee),
Today is June 5, 2009. As I sit and write this essay about you and what you mean to me, I ask that you please do not get annoyed when I refer to you as my baby.
No matter how old you are, you will always be my baby.
I wind the clock back more than eighteen years to Thursday, July 26, 1990, the day you were born; I remember that day as if it were just yesterday. I walked around for many days after your birth with the biggest smile, one that was very difficult to wipe off my face. You joined your Mom and me, as well as your brothers, Joe and Tom, on a magical journey which to this day has helped make our close-knit family well rounded in all aspects of life. My baby was the one that moved our household based on her excitement and joy of living.
Dad remembers the road trip that we took, when you were only a year and a half, to Miami Beach in our ’91 Lumina. You sat in the car seat between your two
brothers and survived the 24-hour drive down and back without ever complaining for a minute. That trip trained you in becoming a professional traveler. Many family vacations followed and each and every one of them has been just as fun and enjoyable as that first trip we took the winter of 1992.
I have seen my baby grow from being a beginner soccer player, to a softball player, to a terrific dancer, a great singer, violinist, outstanding field hockey player, confident student, to a fine young lady who has had a very positive impact on the many people she has met along the way.
You are about to complete High School and I am coming to the realization that my baby has grown up. The fine young woman that you have become will continue to make great strides in making a difference. Today, as you live your life to the fullest and
continue to share your excitement and enthusiasm, with not only your family, but your peers and the many other people you have come to know, I want you to know that I am proud to say that you, Alee, will always be my baby. ♦
Love You!!! Dad
Dear Dad
As a father, I could never ask for anything more. To have a Dad such as you, who is very cultured and well-rounded, has made me the person that I am today. In 1969 you came to this country from Uruguay, South America, at the tender age of ten and became a strong and independent boy because you had no other choice. With that said, I admire you and everything you have accomplished because you essentially did it all on your own.
Being the third child, and only daughter, has given me the position of forever being your little girl, and I wouldn’t want things any other way. To have a family as close and loving as ours, I can only thank you and Mommy for being so selfless and devoted to Joe, Tom and me. I cannot help but think about the foundation Nonna and Nono have built for all of us by loving you and teaching you that family really is the most important thing.
Dad, you have taught me to be the best I can be in any situation I have been put into and I have to thank you for making me as strong as I am today. You have supported me in any decision I have made, but stayed true to yourself and always gave me your honest opinion. I look up to your determination to always succeed no matter what task you are put to and I thank you for passing this trait down to me. You have given me so many opportunities in life that I will never be able to thank you enough. The only way I can repay you and show how much I truly admire you is to just follow in your footsteps to be such an honorable, loving, self-sacrificing, strong person.
As I embark on this journey to college, I can say that I will have you with me always and I will use the judgment you have blessed me with to always make the right decision. I can’t thank you enough for helping me get this far and making my dream come true by attending Siena in the fall. I love you and appreciate all the things you have done to strengthen our family’s bond and quality of life. You have always put our family first and I hope that I can one day be as strong as you and follow the path you have created for me. ♦
Love, Alee
