Especially this Father's Day, I'm thinking about all the fathers (and mothers) who are separated from their children at the border because of Trump's cruel and inhumane immigration policies. I'm incredibly proud of this team for stepping up and raising over $100,000 so far for groups working to protect families separated by ICE.

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In the 1920s, my daddy had big dreams. He wanted to fly airplanes.

I grew up hearing about how he was barely out of high school when he rebuilt a two-passenger, open-cockpit airplane and taught himself to fly above the prairies of eastern Oklahoma. I always pictured him landing and taking off in vast wheat fields, a tiny plane in an immense blue sky.

The days he was flying were happy days for my daddy. But like many other people who endured the double blows of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, he didn't get the chance to follow his dream. Decades later, both my parents still talked of bank failures and families who lost their farms during some of the toughest times for our country.

By the time World War II came along, my mother and daddy already had three young boys. Daddy tried to enlist to be a fighter pilot in the war, but the Army Air Forces (as it was known then) said he was too old, or at least that's the explanation I heard.

When the war finally ended, Daddy desperately wanted a job flying the new passenger planes for one of the fast-growing airlines like TWA or American. But that didn't work out either. My mother told me that those jobs also went to younger men.

So Daddy moved from one job to another: he was a salesman, he fixed cars, he was a janitor. He liked working with his hands, doing repairs around the house. And like a zillion other families, we got by.

When I was a senior in high school, I started thinking about college. I wanted to be a teacher, and that meant I needed a college diploma. But my mother said it was out of the question. She pointed out that we couldn't afford college, that she and Daddy just didn't make enough money. Besides, my daddy had had a heart attack, and now it took both of my parents' paychecks to manage.

I knew how much my parents sacrificed for my future and for my brothers' future, but I wanted to teach. It was my dream, and I wouldn't give up.

My mother kept saying no, and we argued back and forth. Then Daddy surprised both of us, saying: "Let her try, Polly." And I was off and running.

There were lots of bumps and wrong turns along the way. I got married at 19 (it didn't work out). I moved. I dropped out of school. But eventually, I made it.

Whatever I did, my Daddy believed in me. He would say, "That's my Betsy."

In truth, I think he found it pretty miraculous that his baby girl had ended up a teacher. He nearly busted his buttons the first time I was quoted in the newspaper.

I would not be here had it not been for my daddy pushing open a door so that I could have a chance. That is how this daughter of a janitor ended up as a public school teacher, a college professor, and a U.S. Senator. And I'm not the only one. Parents all across our country are working hard to give their children the opportunities they themselves never had.

That kind of sacrifice -- a sacrifice fueled by love -- is why I'm in this fight all the way: for access to healthcare, for a living wage, for affordable education, for keeping families together. All of our children deserve a chance to succeed. And all of our parents deserve the peace of mind knowing their hard work created a better future for their children and grandchildren. That is the promise of America, and I'm fighting to make sure we keep that promise.

My daddy is gone, but I want to wish him a Happy Father's Day. And Happy Father's Day to all the daddies who are trying their hardest to give their children a strong future -- and who set the example every day of what it means to care for the people you love.

Happy Father's Day!

Elizabeth

P.S. Especially this Father's Day, I'm thinking about all the fathers (and mothers) who are separated from their children at the border because of Trump's cruel and inhumane immigration policies. I'm incredibly proud of this team for stepping up and raising over $100,000 so far for groups working to protect families separated by ICE. If you haven't already, help us keep the momentum going by making a donation -- anything you're able to give will make a difference.

Authors Bio:

Elizabeth Warren was assistant to the president and a special adviser to the Treasury secretary on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She single-handedly set us this bureau, putting in place the building blocks for an agency that will make credit markets
safer and fairer for families.