"Hi Suzanne, This is a very easy question for me to answer!

My father gave me the gift of Self-Respect. My father was number 10 of 11 children which 3 died at birth. He lost his father at age 9, his family was very poor; so they learned how to save and utilize everything. Growing up he was quite strict, but this is where he taught me things the right way-the first time. I made plenty of mistakes along the way but he has always been there for me. He taught me to take on responsibility at an early age, and that is how I got to where I am today. I feel very proud to brag about my father. He is my best friend, who I can go to for advice at any time." --Wendy

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"My birthday was just one month after my mother died. It was the first birthday in 56 years that my dad solely was responsible for sending me a birthday present. I was charmed by his selection. The gift box included a pound box of chocolate creams, my favorite, Mrs. Price's Candy, a jar of dried beef, a can of deviled ham and, most precious, four of my mother's handkerchiefs.the kind older ladies never left home without. I don't know the reason behind the selections, but I thoroughly enjoyed the candy, the beef and ham (?). And, I will always treasure the handkerchiefs." --Barbara

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"The best gift my father gave me was not a tangible object. My father was raised poor, never had the opportunity to go to college, worked in a steel mill all his life. Dad and Mom raised 5 kids in a 2 bedroom house. He was either laid off or on strike much of my childhood (at least it seems that way in my memory.) When he wasn't working at the mill he worked for a sign painter to make enough money to pay our bills.

My dad taught all of us to play jacks. He would sit on the floor for hours playing jacks on the hard tile living room floor. He was very good at jacks. He played Monopoly with us, and Clue, and Scrabble, and any other board game that found its way into our home. He taught us how to play Kick the Can, Bounce and Fly, and croquet. No gift in the world can ever replace the time he spent with all of his children - playing." --CLouisMcom

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"The best gift from my father came to me several years ago. As a single Mom with a small child, my Father, for Christmas, was thoughtful enough to give me a portable air compressor. (The kind you plug into your cigarette lighter and it inflates tires, etc.) Although not a very prestigious gift, with it, my Father accomplished three things. He recognized my independence, gave himself a small amount of assurance that I could get to where I am going, and at the same time the frivolity of blowing up basket balls, soccer balls and swim toys for my son. Normally Mom buys the gifts, but this one I knew was from Dad. Thanks again for the reading Suzanne!" --Janet

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"The best gift my dad give me was that he agreed to come to america. i always wanted to come here from my country pakistan because all my cousins where here in usa. my dad had a big business there but he left his country and come here for our education.i think that is the best gift my dad gave me." --maha

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"My Dad went to bed one night at 55 and died. Ken and Kristi ( our children) were our best gifts to him. As a result of his early and unexpected death, I write a snail mail letter to our children every week. I want them to be up to date on what's going on in our life if the good Lord should call me home suddenly. I think in a spirtual way that's a gift to Dad. The first letter was written in 1973. The latest letter was last Saturday." --Dick

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"I've thought all week about what to write. It seemed for awhile that I had no specific story to share but this morning my foggy memory cleared and I remembered how I came to take piano lessons.

Piano Lessons

There wasn't much money in our house as I was growing up. With 7 children and only one income, my parents had a difficult time providing the necessities, let alone the frivolous. When I was about 16 I desperately wanted to take piano lessons. We had an old upright piano which someone had given us years before which I'd fooled around with enough to learn how to read music and be able to play simple tunes, mostly hymns from an old church hymnal.

I must have really nagged my parents because one day my father announced that he had made an appointment with a piano teacher on the other side of town. We arrived for my 'audition' and the teacher agreed to take me as a student but there was only one problem, my father had enough money for only 1 lesson a month ($5.00) and the teacher said that I really should have a minimum of 2 lessons a month. I saw my glorious dream fly away without ever landing on my shoulder!

I don't know how the next part happened, how they came to be talking about the piano teacher's wife needing a ride home from her job in the larger city 15 miles away. My father made that same trip each day of the week and most weekends. Before I knew quite what had happened, my father and the piano teacher had struck a bargain. I would have my two lessons a month and the teacher's wife would have a ride home every day that she worked! I continued those lessons for a year and a half.

The lessons were'nt the real gift in all of this. The real gift is the evidence of my father's love.... he loved me enough to find a way to give me what I wanted.

Did I become a prize winning pianist? Well, no. I don't even own a piano today, but the memory of Dad's love lives forever in my heart.

Thanks for the opportunity to share this story." --Carol

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"My father gave me a book during my Senior year in high school (1952) "Marjorie Morningstar" . It seemed to me he was sending the message -- "you are a grownup now"." --Shirley

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"My parents split up when I was 5. I had no contact with my father ( my difficult mother saw to that) till I found him through a district attorney when I left home at 16. He was happy to see me and wanted to make up for years of absence. My mother however was not pleased and a court battle ensued. Needless to say it was ugly and I felt as if I was being torn in two. When I thought things couldn't get any worse, they did. In the midst of all this, my father told me that he was very proud of me. It was the first time in my entire life that anyone had said that to me, and I so needed to hear it. 23 years later it still fills my eyes with tears ( and my heart with joy). My father and I, though living on different coasts are still close and for that I am always grateful." --Alison

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"Suzanne - the best gift my father ever gave his four adult daughters was taking us away for an overnight. My dad has MS and we planned it during a time when he was feeling pretty good. We went to a casino where he treated us all to $50 in quarters and then shared a hotel room and played cards, told stories, and laughed all night. On the way home we hit a few flea markets. My dad had never spent lots of time with his girls and this was such a special treat. He told us during that weekend that he counted us among his closest friends and make us all feel very loved. It was one of the best weekends I ever had." --Amy

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