When I open up a newspaper and read that yet another child has been taken from his adoptive parents and given to his biological parents, I almost begin to cry. It makes me so sad and so angry. A parent is not somebody who conceives the child, but, rather, somebody who raises the child, teaches the child, and loves the child. I am one to know this. When I was four, my biological father died of cancer. He was a great man and a real parent who raised me, taught me and loved me. Unfortunately, he couldn't do those things for as long as most parents do.

When I was seven, my mother remarried. I then had a stepfather, but I soon realized he was more than just a step-parent. He was a real father. The definition of stepparent is somebody who marries your real parent. He did marry my mother, but he also took on the responsibilities of a real father. He raised me. He taught me. He's my dad. He did, does and always will love me. He is the greatest father a person could ask for. If anybody ever told me that I couldn't have him for my father and that I shouldn't call him dad because he's not a biological parent, I would tell them that we may not have the same blood, but we share a heart. To rip it apart would crush us both. We have a special father-daughter bond.

I love my father. He has done so much for me. He's done everything from teaching me how to mow a lawn to how to drive a car. He will be the one to walk me up the aisle on my wedding day. He's a true father, and I'm proud to call him Dad! %