Anonymous Note Reminds Dad How Important He Really Is

A Minnesota dad’s Facebook post is going viral after he shared a lovely note he received from a stranger in a coffee shop.

David Rosenman is a Mayo Clinic doctor and father who has a sweet weekend routine with his nine-year-old daughter. According to Yahoo Parenting, the pair go to a coffee shop each Sunday and he works while his daughter crochets or does some other project. Last weekend, his daughter changed things up and asked Rosenman for his undivided attention — no works, no projects. That’s when a stranger took notice of the pair and made a sweet gesture.

In a Facebook post that’s been shared almost 10,000 times, Rosenman explains that when his daughter asked for his attention, he gave it to her. They talked about her friends and her hamster, they debated whether or not couples seated near them were on dates, and, writes David, “I watched her chew her breakfast sandwich and melted a little bit as I thought about how much I love her.”

Awww.

Rosenman got up to order something at the counter, and that’s when he says a stranger walked up to his table and left a note facedown on his chair. The note read:

“I work at a school where many daughters don’t have fathers & those who do have never in their lives had him watch and listen and devote 100% of his attention to her for as long as you did on one Sunday morning. You have no idea what a gift you are giving to all the teachers who are responsible for educating her from now until she graduates.”

Rosenman was stunned by the note and posted it to Facebook in the hopes that “more people might be guided by its power and by its author’s thoughtfulness.” He adds, “I invite you to share the gift of this experience with me: choose to be present today — even for just a little while — for someone you love. If you see it happen somewhere, consider leaving a note — it sure does leave an impression.”

As parents, we all want our kids to feel like we’re paying attention to them and giving them our best, but it’s easy to get sidetracked by other things. Not every kid will be so forthright as to ask when they need more from us, so Rosenman’s note is a beautiful reminder that sometimes our kids just need us. Sometimes they just want to talk or tell us a silly story, and it doesn’t take much to make that connection with them.

It’s also nice to see such a sweet acknowledgment of a parent’s role in their child’s life. So often, it’s hard to know if you’re making an impact or if the efforts you’re making are doing anything at all. It’s rare to get the sort of validation this note provided, and Rosenman’s right: we should give each other more of that.

With the Thanksgiving holiday upon us, this whole story seems like the perfect reminder to spend time with the ones we love and let our friends and family know just how much we appreciate the things they do. Kudos to Rosenman and this kind stranger for spreading a message so many of us needed to hear.