A Step-Dad’s letter to his daughter

One night I was at a dance bar in Los Angeles, and this woman asked if I wanted to dance. After a first glance, I immediately said yes. I was just thinking of how fortunate I was to be dancing with the most beautiful woman there. We exchanged digits, and that was the start of a beautiful relationship. Christine told me that she had a two-year-old daughter. Her name was Jasmine. My first thought was, what a beautiful name. I was dying to meet you. I always saw myself as someone who always wanted children. I finally got the chance to meet you after we felt it was right in our relationship. It was at a playground. I was kind of smitten by how precious you were. You were such a vibrant bunch of energy. We played around for a while and had an amazing time. I kept thinking that night, what an amazing two-year-old! That was the start of forming the Soler Braun family. 

At that time, we didn’t live in the same area. I would drive to Bakersfield, and you both would drive to LA. I looked forward to all of our times spent together. After some time, we decided on the next step in our relationship to move together. We moved into an apartment by the beach. We ate at restaurants, had walks by the beach, and had birds poop on us after a little girl (hmmm! her name started with a J) scared them away. We had the best times. I was such a lucky man to have these women in my life. An opportunity presented itself to take a job in Florida. I have decided that I could not be happy making this move without the women that made me happy. I decided to propose to your mother, and we all moved together. We decided to take a road trip from LA to Fort Lauderdale. 

This is my favorite picture of us together. It was taken at the Grand Canyon. 

I was such a changed man because of you. You made me realize that I was ready for a change in my priorities. It was all about starting a family. You made me so happy! You were so easy to love. Thank you! I have seen you grow into such a mature and bright, independent woman. A Georgia Tech graduate with a BS in chemical engineering! I hope that I gave you a sense of stability and a love for those that are close to you. I tried to teach the importance of on education and becoming an independent woman. I am so proud of being the stepfather of someone who now inspires me to be better. Jasmine Angeline Thompson, you are a beautiful and strong woman!

You are always going to have a cheerleader in your corner. Know that you are always in my thoughts and that I LOVE YOU very much! I look forward to seeing you succeed in your career and in life.