Today was my daughter’s fourth birthday. Four years already. I find myself struck by how quickly the time has gone.

My father passed away less than two weeks after she was born, and I still remember the roller coaster of emotions from those days as if it were yesterday. I wanted him to see her, even just once, so I had her put her hands together before the family altar at my parents’ home so he could look at her face.

She cries louder than her older brother and asserts herself without hesitation — a strong girl. She has a fiery streak that will probably let her win arguments against him once she’s a little older. And yet, just like her brother, she has a gentle side: when he’s struggling, she worries about him more than anyone and rushes to help. She follows him everywhere and wants to copy everything he does. Watching the two of them bicker and still support and encourage each other, I often think, “Siblings really are something special. What a wonderful relationship they have.”

After she turned three, she became more and more of a daddy’s girl, just as her brother did — playing together, eating together, bathing together, sleeping together, not wanting to leave my side for even a moment. This was the year I finally understood why fathers everywhere melt for their daughters. I get it now.

Every night as we lie down to sleep, she tells me, “Papa, I love you most in the whole world,” and I feel a happiness beyond anything I can describe.

Like my son, my daughter has given me an enormous amount of unconditional love over these four years. In my forty-four years, I have never received love like this, and I feel I will spend the rest of my life giving it back to them. I’ve been a parent for not quite seven years, but the more I do it, the more I sense that what children give their parents may be far greater than what parents give their children.

I’m still immature, both as a person and as a parent, but I hope to keep growing one step at a time, together with my children.

Happy 4th birthday, my dear daughter.

Masaki “Mark” Iino
Founder & CEO
SOPHOLA, Inc.