I was, and will forever be, a daddy’s girl. I will never not miss my father. His strength and humor, his love of art and food. I still remember when his hand was too big to hold, so I held his pinky finger as we walked through parking lots and soccer fields. When I was getting to know my husband and he would ask me about my dad, I always said, “Everything you like best about me—my loyalty, my insane sense of humor, my tenacity, my huge unconditional style of loving—I got from Bruce,” in an effort to give him a felt sense of who my dad was.
I know that not everyone had or has a great experience of fathers, but in my family, this is not the case. We know how lucky we are, and we discuss it frequently. My dad’s brother Bobby, his father Buster, my brother, Jake...these Paltrow men are fathers in ways I have rarely seen—all in, overflowing with love for their people. I am living proof of what a father’s love can do—not that he was perfect, or that I don’t have issues—but that kind of unabashed, full-throated adoration has more or less given me a strong sense of self. And, most importantly, given me a blueprint for being a parent myself.
If, like me, you want to show the father figures in your life how much you appreciate them, our gift guide is a great place to start.
Love,
Gwyneth
