Things My Dad Taught Me #1
Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at 3:28PM So, this weekend is Father's Day. As a dad myself this is a fun day. I like getting to choose some of the things we do for a change.
But I've seen this on some other websites this week and thought I'd steal the idea. Every day this week I'm going to post something my dad taught me. Here's the first one.
My dad taught me to say "I love you." I didn't have one of those dads who never told me he loved me. He told me, and still tells me, all the time. He never held this gift back from me.
It's amazing to me how many men I've met who never got this from their dads. That stinks. As a teen did my dad saying he loved me when we got off the phone embarrass me? No. Not that I can remember, but maybe I'm being sentimental. Maybe it drove me nuts. I honestly don't think it did, but it probably did. I do know this, a moment of potential embarrassment has been far outweighed by the knowledge that my dad loves me. I've never had to question it.
Here's the point, my dad's generosity with his expression of love for me has taught me that I need to give this gift to my kids, and my wife, too. I never want them to doubt that I love them. I tell them all the time. He taught me that a kid needs to know, needs to hear, that his dad loves him. It gave me confidence and it gave me courage. Heck, it still does.
Gooey? Yep. True? Yep again.
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Personal Story: When my grandmother died I took great comfort in the fact that we ended every conversation with "I love you". In my heart I knew that she knew that I loved her and somehow that helped me deal with the pain of losing her. We should always tell our loved ones that we love them.