This is my second post for today — it being Father’s Day, I wanted to briefly acknowledge the day and share some thoughts.

It might seem strange that I’m writing about Father’s Day on this blog dedicated to my mom, but there’s a purpose, I promise.

I’ve felt strangely emotional today (and not just because the Warriors lost…*sniff*); although I tend to find most occasions and holidays especially tough, I wouldn’t have expected for today to have the same impact. I realize, though, that despite it being Father’s Day, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about my mom. Please don’t misunderstand me; my dad deserves so, so very much appreciation — and I have privately conveyed to him my thoughts around this — but on this day, I feel my mom does too.

Why? Well the thought that’s been in my head all day is that my dad is a dad, my dad, because of my mom. My dad wouldn’t have been a dad without my mom. They both became parents together, on April 7, 1988 — the day Sanam was brought into this world — and they grew and developed as parents together ever since.

My parents are, without a doubt, the best two individuals I have ever met. It’s something I’ve really come to understand over the past few years as I ventured into adult life and began to encounter the outside world. And the beauty of it is that my mom and dad helped develop each other into these versions of themselves, the versions that I and my siblings are truly in awe of and inspired by.

So today, I not only say thank you Dad, but also thank you Mom. Thank you for giving me a dad who is the rock of our family and puts his children’s interests first every single time, even during the most difficult of times when selfishness would have been completely understood and even expected. Thank you for serving as an example of compassion and generosity and inspiring him to develop these traits in himself, to the point that like you, he is one of the most compassionate and generous people I know. Thank you for being the most wonderful mom a child could ever ask for, because that meant you needed the best teammate to serve alongside you.

So on this Father’s Day, thank you Mom — you gave me the best dad in the world.