Fathers: Mac McMillan

In the few interactions I’ve had with Mac McMillan, I’ve found him to just be a solid man, always there when I need to ask him for advice, or, in this instance, for a little help.  Alongside his wife Kat, Mac recently introduced neckwear line Pierrepont Hicks to much fanfare and within good reason. Their ties are as a tasteful an update as you’ll find.

Thank you, Mac, for sharing this beautiful letter to your daughter, Camille.

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Camille,

You are fast approaching your 2nd birthday and who could have ever known how much you have changed me since you’ve been born. You have rocked my world baby girl. Yes, being a dad can be challenging at times. The sleepless nights, the mommy meltdowns you caused (or perhaps maybe I caused), that time a few weeks back where you thought it would be real neato to rub Vaseline all over your hair, which took days and several shampoos to get out. But you know what? I wouldn’t trade being your dad for anything. Nothing.

You have changed me.

I see the world differently through a dad’s eyes. I view people differently. My relationships are different.

I find I have more compassion in life. I find I have more fun. I found out, I’m actually a morning person.

I find myself thinking about my health more, so I can be around for you in fifty years.

I feel a sense of protection I never thought I had in me, about what you will encounter as you grow older and more independent.

When sitting on a plane next to an empty seat, I no longer pray and repeat the words “please don’t sit next to me” under my breath over and over when a parent and baby board, because I understand.

I no longer get annoyed when there is a kid is freaking at the table next to me in a restaurant, because I understand.

I no longer walk past a struggling parent trying to carry their gear up stairs rather I offer assistance, because I understand.

I drive around the lakes of Minneapolis, after trying all other methods to get you to nap, watching you sleep in the rearview mirror and I love it.

Sidenote: I do still get seriously irked when I see the scary mommy “lioness” barrel down the sidewalk in her double-wide SUV stroller with tires bigger than my Trek bike and have to literally dive for my life into the bushes so as not to get run over – you know who you are ladies.

I hope that you don’t get too upset with me when you find out that you will be entering the convent when you turn 14 years old and that you will never be allowed to talk to boys – ever!

I want to seal you up and keep you just as you are, yet I want to watch you grow. Being a parent is the greatest feeling and yet it is brings out the deepest emotions in me I have ever experienced – which can be difficult at times. You have made me a better person and for this I thank you.

Camille, thank you for being such a sweet and beautiful girl. Thank you for molding me into a more compassionate, sensitive, and better person. Thank you for making me a dad.

– Mac McMillan, Pierrepont Hicks