Jonathan Van Ness
“When someone takes you on as their own when you’re not biologically their own, I think is really special....[My stepdad] didn’t have to raise me. He wanted to.”
2Justin Timberlake
“My stepdad is probably the greatest man I’ve ever known. The best advice I’ve ever been given was when he told me to enjoy my life, because one day I’m not going to be as agile as I am now.”
3Jim Valvano
“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person: He believed in me.”
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
4Frederick Buechner
“You can kiss your family and friends goodbye and put miles between you, but...you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you.”
5Delia Ephron
“If you are a stepparent, rush right out and get yourself a dog. Because it’s very nice to have someone in the house that loves you.”
6Flea
“I got my love of jazz from my stepfather, who was a jazz musician.”
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
7Antoine-François Prévost
“The heart of a father is the masterpiece of nature.”
8Isabel Allende
"My father left when I was three, and I have no memory of him. The most significant male figures in my life were my grandfather, in whose house I lived during the first 10 years of my childhood, and later my stepfather."
9Bruce Linton
"Becoming a father is a challenge to any man's psyche and there is a fundamental reorganization that you cannot avoid when you begin this journey."
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
10Unknown
"A dad is someone who wants to catch you before you fall but instead picks you up, brushes you off, and lets you try again."
11Valerie J. Lewis Coleman
"Step-parenting is like working at a late-night convenience store...all of the responsibility and none of the authority."
12Unknown
"A child cannot have too many people who love them and want to help them succeed."
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
13Unknown
"A stepparent is so much more than just a parent: They made the choice to love when they didn't have to."
14Brian Urlacher
"My mom is my heart. But my stepdad was my role model, the hardest working man I ever knew."
15Wade Boggs
"Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad, and that's why I call you dad, because you are so special to me. You taught me the game and you taught me how to play it right."
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
16Al Hodson
"The only steps in this house are the stair steps and the only half in this house is the half & half creamer."
17Abraham Lincoln
"No man stands taller than when he stoops to help a child."
18Unknown
"A stepfather means so many things... an understanding heart, a source of strength, and of support, right from the very start."
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
19Unknown
"A good stepparent can literally turn the life of a child around."
20Ray Johnson
"It takes a strong man to accept somebody else's children and step up to the plate another man left on the table."
Madoline Markham is the assistant managing editor for Country Living, where she covers shopping, home decor, news, and culture.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
