Eighteen years into his life,
A child was born with his last name,
A promise to be the dad he never had.
As Marine, he marched for his child,
And the stork brought another.
Another year, the wife kept the toddlers,
But in the end it was a man and his kids.

Five years from the firstborn's coming,
They crossed the country for a better change.
The daughter holding her brother's hand,
Off to their first day of real school.
Years go by, growing feet high,
A puppy's coat grows speckled grey
Like the father's own head of hair.
From infants to toddlers,
From preschoolers to middle schoolers,
His children now in high school,
Never once doubting their father.

They look to him with pride and pain,
He struggles to keep his head above the water,
They’re there for him,
With hearts of love and admiring eyes,
And they love him for everything he has ever done.
Now he's lived another year,
Survived another year of two teens.
A business to run, money to make,
It seems like everything he worked for is at stake.
And he works his tail away,
Worries his head apart,
But his children turn his head to light.

The son,
He smiles and laughs,
"You're so much fun,
You know the coolest things.
I never learned so much so fast
Until you explain it in that way.
I want to be just like you,
And make things work
The way they're supposed to."

The daughter,
She shakes her head, smiling.
"You need a rest," she says,
"I'm proud of you no matter what.
Your head is up,
No matter how hard you're pulled down.
You reach higher,
No matter how hard your wrists slapped.
You push farther,
No matter how hard you're shoved.
You roar louder,
No matter how much they scare you.

For that and that alone, you shine in my eyes.
From the dirt, you rise to the stars.
Whether you notice or not,
I see your scars,
And I appreciate what each one has done for us.
You've held your promise and honored it in every way,
And so now there's only one thing left to say:
I promise to always love you,
No matter how things turn out."