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The original was posted on /r/lifeprotips by /u/mikenolan567 on 2025-07-04 13:57:55+00:00.
I’m 57 now. My daughter is in her twenties, and I still remember holding her for the first time like it was yesterday. I’ve done my best to be there for her, but I’ve also made mistakes times I was too harsh, too tired, too caught up in my own struggles.
Lately, I’ve started thinking a lot about what would happen if I’m not around someday. Not out of fear, just a quiet awareness. I want her to know the things I never said out loud
how proud I am, how much she changed my life, how I still see her as that little girl with scraped knees and fire in her heart.
A friend gave me a journal called When I’m Gone by Corwin Harlan. I didn’t think I’d actually write in it, but I opened it one night and ended up writing for an hour. Somehow, it gave me peace. Like if I couldn’t say everything now, maybe she’d still hear me later.
You don’t need a fancy book. Just write. Somewhere. Anywhere. Even if you think no one will ever read it. It helps. And maybe, someday, it helps someone you love too.