Single dad away from home for 6 weeks gets a heart-melting message from daughter

Children in separated households may feel deprived of love from the absent parent, but technology helps bridge that gap. Little text messages can remind parents that they are valued. One dad, u/crazyunicorntamer, shared a sweet message from his young daughter on Reddit, received while he was working late. This heartfelt message showed how a few kind words can brighten someone's day.

"I've been working at sea for 6 weeks and my 11-year-old daughter sends me this," the title of the post read, followed by a screenshot of the text message. "I am a single dad with 50/50 custody of my 2 kids. I have been at sea for 6 weeks now working, but I talk to my kids every day without fail on video calls. It's horrible working away and leaving them, but I do it so they can have a nice life and we get quality time together on my month off. Today, my daughter stayed late to send me this message as I'm working a night shift. 1 message has so much power to change your day. Today, my smile is ear to ear," the dad further wrote.

His daughter, Mia, sent a text message, telling her dad she loved him. "Dad, I just wanted to tell you that you are the best dad in the world. I love you more than anything. You are so funny and cool. I love it when we play games together and go on adventures. You make me so happy and I can't wait for more fun times together. Love you, lots and lots," her text read. The dad added a few more details about the situation with his family in the comment section as well.

"I grew up without my father as he passed when I was 4, so I always feel bad leaving for work. I normally do 4-week trips, but this is a 6-weeker. I'm actually home next week, so this was the boost I needed. She will never know how much her message means to me. We have the zoo planned when I get home, so we're both excited about that," the father wrote in the comment, replying to a fellow Reddit user. In a separate comment, he mentioned that his daughter has been going through a lot in the past few years after her grandma passed away and he got a divorce from her mother. Mia also suffered at the hands of bullies in her school and he remained by her side as someone she can trust and get non-biased advice from.

The Reddit community praised the father and told him that he deserved all the love from Mia. u/unsolved49 shared, "As a former sailor with no kids at the time, I cannot imagine how hard it is for you to spend extended time away from them like this. Your daughter's text made me tear up this Monday morning. Can't wait for y'all to be reunited again. Stay safe out there, sir." u/Outside_Squirrel_839 mentioned, "The trick is to find something that only dad and daughter really like as a thing that makes her feel special. My 25-year-old daughter still prefers to go to drag racing with her dad than hang out with her friends. She did this as a teenager even if her friends from school were at the track, I'd tell her to go hang with them. I got a solid nope every time."