My daughter was mad at me for attending her graduation because I’m a biker — with a long beard, tattoos, leather vest and all.

When they called her name, she walked across the stage glowing. Our eyes met—and her smile faltered in surprise.

Afterward, as I was leaving, she stopped me.

“Dad… I’m sorry,” she said. “I saw you in the crowd and realized something. No one else knows what you did for me. But I do.”

She hugged me and whispered, “I love you.”

Here’s what I learned:
Sometimes kids push us away not because they don’t love us—but because they’re still growing.

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