I got these text messages from my dad after my mother confessed he wasn’t actually my biological dad. I’m 31 years old and this is the first I knew of it.

More to me then any jewel that can be found, love always Papa

This is the last Christmas card I ever got from my dad. He had a fatal stroke on the day before Christmas 5 years ago. He was right – I’ve had some amazing adventures since – a doctorate, a Fulbright, a ton of travel, lots of love and now totally ready to work on the toughest of problems.

Ironically, I also don’t sleep much… My research assistants always laugh when I send them emails at 3 am. But I’m dreaming up solutions to problems and they just can’t wait…

          

—email—
Hi Frank,

I’ve been following PostSecret now for over a decade and this is my first e-mail to you.

I’m writing in response to one of the Father’s Day secrets. The one that says the dad wasn’t a good man to his son when he was young, but that he’s trying to do better now and it’s hard. I wanted to let him know that he shouldn’t stop trying to find ways to connect.  Please be patient and please don’t stop trying. The nature of any relationship is built on much more complex circumstances than can be realized without time, effort, understanding, and forgiveness. Your son needs time to work through his experiences and feelings too, and hopefully he’ll get there (and maybe he won’t). Either way, don’t stop showing up in all the little and big ways.

Oddly, I discovered PostSecret when my dad and I were asked to do voice-overs for one of the promo videos for the “A Lifetime of Secrets” book release. The secret he read was about fatherhood. Mine was about fate. Years later, when I went to visit the PostSecret exhibit at the National Postal Museum, the secrets we read were displayed right next to each other. I started crying right in the middle of the museum. I’ve attached them to this e-mail. Truly, it’s all in the little things. If you can’t read them the first ones says, “If you’re waiting for a sign. . . this is it. Do it. It will be amazing. The other postcard read, “I LOVE HER ANYWAYS” and on the other side was a black and white sonogram with the words, “I know she’s not mine.”