
And I’m going to let you finish, but I have the greatest dad of all time. My dad has taught me more than I could ever say. He preached to me (often falling on deaf ears) about all things in moderation. He did not preach to me about “always do your best”,”treat people with respect”, “do the next right thing”, “what you reap is what you sow”. Nope, I don’t recall one conversation about any of those things. In fact, we have never really had any heartfelt, passing-down-wisdom, touchy-feely discussions.
What did he do instead? He showed me every day how to do each of those things, and much, much more. He showed me how to accomplish anything I set my mind to. He showed me how make the best of any situation. He showed me that absolutely anything is possible. He showed me how to love and care for a family. He showed me honesty and hard work. Plus- he showed me how to fish, and he got me my first tattoo! I can trace most of the things I admire about myself back to my dad (and of course there was influence from mom, and other important people, too – no slight to them intended!) I remember in first grade telling my mom I wanted to look like dad when I grew up, and she replied “Your father is a handsome man.” Little did I know at the time, the unspoken words were really “I want to BE like dad when I grow up” and “Your father is a wonderful man”.
Thanks dad, for everything – you said just enough, and didn’t clutter the message by saying too much!