To my fiancé and our girl,

Everything I am trying to build means more because of you two.

There are a lot of things in life that can make a man feel important for a moment.

But none of that compares to coming home to you.

To my fiancé, I want you to know that I see you.

I see how much you carry. I see the way you love our girl, the way you notice the little things, and the way you keep showing up even on the days you are tired or overwhelmed. I see the mother you are and the life you are helping create for our family.

You are not just supporting me while I chase work, fishing, school, coaching, and everything I want to build.

You are the person I want to build it with.

Our girl will grow up knowing how much her mama is loved. She will see it in the way I speak to you, the way I stand beside you, the way I protect our peace, and the way I make sure you never have to question whether you are chosen.

I want her to look at us one day and understand what love is supposed to feel like.

Not perfect. Not fake. Not something that disappears when life gets hard.

Real love. The kind that keeps choosing each other. The kind that owns mistakes, works through hard moments, protects the home, and keeps growing.

To our girl,

You are still so little, but you have already changed my whole life.

You have made me think differently about the man I want to be, the father I want to become, and the kind of home I want you to grow up in.

I want you to feel safe here.

I want you to feel loved loudly and consistently.

I want you to know that you never have to earn your place in this family. You were born into a home where you are wanted, celebrated, protected, and believed in.

I want to give you more than things. I want to give you stability. I want to give you patience. I want to give you memories of laughter, family, basketball games, boat rides, school events, trips, culture, hard work, and people who show up for each other.

I want you to see your dad work hard, but I never want you to feel like work matters more than you do.

Fishing may take me away sometimes. Work may be demanding. There will be seasons when I am tired, stressed, or still figuring things out.

But you and your mama will always be my reason to come back better.

I want you to know where you come from.

I want you to know your Alaskan and Hawaiian culture, your history, and the people who came before you.

But I also want you to know you can go anywhere.

You can learn anything. You can walk into any room. You can chase any dream. You can become whatever kind of woman you decide to become.

My job is not to choose your future for you.

My job is to help make sure you are ready for it.

To my fiancé, I promise to keep working toward a life where you feel supported, respected, and loved in the good moments, the hard moments, and the everyday ones too.

To our girl, I promise to keep becoming the kind of father you can be proud of.

I will not get everything right. But I will keep showing up. I will keep learning. I will keep trying to be more patient, more present, more disciplined, and more worthy of the family I have.

Everything I do is for the life we are building together.

I love you both more than I know how to explain.

Colten Mack