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A Letter To My Five-Year-Old Daughter On Her Birthday

George Kalantzis
3 min readJan 31, 2021

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6 Months Old 2016

Melina, today is your special day, and while we are not together, I want you to know it is a year I will forever hold close to my heart.

Five years ago, you walked into my life, and I’ll never forget the day you were born. I was terrified that I was going to let you down. In some ways, I have, and will most likely continue to do. But, I promise no matter what happened in the past, or whatever the future holds for us, I will always stand by your side because you are my little girl, and I love you.

As I sit here this morning and look at all of our photos from the last five years, a few tears are coming down my cheek. It took me years before I could allow tears to come freely, and you have taught me how powerful and beautiful they actually are. These tears clear the path to my heart’s center, and every drop that tapers off to the page below reminds me how much you have taught me about life.

I hope you never have to go through some of the things I went through, but if you do, I want you to know it’s important to always follow your heart rather than stay in something that makes you feel unseen, unsafe, and unheard. The truth is, your mom and I have never had a better relationship, and we are both very excited to see you grow.

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George Kalantzis
George Kalantzis

Written by George Kalantzis

George is a professional storyteller, a dad to a sassy and adventurous eight year-old girl, and the author Of Nowhere To Go

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