“I consider all my children teachers” - James Van Der Beek pens emotional post for his children

James Van Der Beek is crediting his kids for teaching him how to live.

The former Dawson's Creek actor, who shares six kids with wife Kimberly Van Der Beek, recently took to Instagram to pen a heartfelt tribute to his 9-year-old daughter on her birthday. Coupled with a few selfies of the father-daughter duo, he wrote:

"My heart… turns 9 years old today. I consider all my children my teachers, but you I’ve always considered an authority. Whether you’re ushering us all out the door on time, helping put your little brother to bed, or telling me where you think I went wrong… when you speak, I listen."

James Van Der Beek went on,

"I love watching you perform. I love your laugh. I love singing your bedtime song with you in two-part harmony, and with such a big destiny so clearly ahead of you, I love that we get to know you at all of these phases of your life and development. It is the honor of many lifetimes to get be the man you call “Dad”. And striving to be worthy of that title for you makes me a better man on the daily."

James Van Der Beek concluded his post by wishing his daughter a Happy Birthday.

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James Van Der Beek opens up in an emotional video about the toll of colorectal cancer:

James Van Der Beek revealed to People Magazine last year that he had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

"I have colorectal cancer. I've been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family," he said. "There's reason for optimism, and I'm feeling good."

"These cancers can also be called colon cancer or rectal cancer, depending on where they start. Colon cancer and rectal cancer are often grouped together because they have many features in common."

On June 15, to commemorate Father's Day, James Van Der Beek took to Instagram once again to attach a string of photos of his life with daughters Olivia, Annabel, Emilia, and Gwendolyn, and sons Joshua and Jeremiah, alongside the following caption:

"Being a father has been the most treasured honor of my life. Thank you to my kids for re-teaching me how to live, laugh, love, and show up in my own life and in the world. And thank you to my super hero of a wife @vanderkimberly, who constantly exceeds the boundaries of what I thought was human capacity. I love you all with all my heart.”

The Dancing With The Stars Season 28 alum shared an update with fans back in March via a video on Instagram, as he celebrated his 48th birthday.

"Today's my birthday, and it has been the hardest year of my life," he said in the video. "I wanted to share something I learned with y'all. "When I was younger, I used to define myself as an actor, which was never really all that fulfilling," he continued. "Then I became a husband, and that was much better. And then I became a father, and that was the ultimate."

He added,

"I could define myself then as a loving, capable, strong, supportive husband, father, provider, steward of the land that we're so lucky to live on. And for a long time, that felt like a really good definition to the question: 'Who am I? What am I?"'

However, seeing as this year he "had to look his own mortality in the eye, James Van Der Beek said:

"I had to come nose to nose with death. All of those definitions that I cared so deeply about were stripped for me."

James Van Der Beek also noted that being away for treatment for so long impacted his home life because he could no longer care for his wife and kids in the way that he wanted to.

"I could no longer be a father who could pick up his kids and put them to bed and be there for them. I could not be a provider because I wasn't working. I couldn't even be a steward of the land because, at times, I was too weak to prune all the trees during the window that you're supposed to prune them."

He added,

"As I move through this human portal toward recovery, I wanted to share that with you because I think that revelation that came to me was due in small part to all the prayers and love that have been directed toward me."

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