I give my daughter birthday cards from her "dead" father every year on her birthday.

My parents helped me buy a house when I was 24. We knew the seller was a shady guy, but he was selling the house at a price that was way lower than what we thought it was worth and he didn't want to do any sort of inspection. He just wanted the money and wanted out. We took the chance. The house is really nice and it was cheaper than anything else in my price range. I know we saved a lot of money because of the cheap price and my parents being generous with their gift. <br><br>We also ended up with a safe hidden behind a painting in my office and the key for it. The combination was written on the papers we got with the deed. Not sure what was in there when I moved in. Probably nothing. It looks like a cheap safe from Target or something anyway. But I decided to use it. <br><br>I have a baby girl. She's 3 now. Her father cheated on me when she was 3 months old and I left him. He was bad for a long time after and I had to spend a lot of money keeping her and myself safe and getting him to leave us alone. Eventually it died down enough for me to focus on other things and not be so afraid all the time. I never get too far into details for her sake, but he is not a part of her life. I don't want her thinking she did anything wrong or that she's to blame and I don't want him to know anything about her either. <br><br>I keep some money in the safe and have since my daughter was born. I also keep a credit card I don't use for anything else and some pictures of us that aren't on my phone. It's our own little secret and a way for me to feel secure that we have something if things get bad and we need to get out. Every year on her birthday I write her a card from her father and sign his name. Nothing else. Just a card saying I'm proud of her and I love her. <br><br>Make of it what you will. I don't need to defend it. Like I said, it's our own little secret and I think it's sweet. She loves reading the old ones and asking me questions about him and I do my best to answer with the truth and make it sound as not too bad as I can without lying.