Hi ladies,
As we continue to think about Father's Day I was wondering, what lessons did you learn from your dad?
Are you using any of those lessons with your own children? Are you passing those lessons down?
he's not my biological dad, he's my brother's dad but he treated me and my sister like we were his own daughters...he continued to drill into me and my sister's head that it is best to have our own, to be independent, confident and strong and to not depend on nobody to to hand us anything...work hard for the things you need and work harder for the things you want...when you have children you lead by example not a figment of your imagination, when you get married you treat your husband how you want him to treat you...
My bio father, not to become an alcoholic and sign over rights of your kid, not to cheat on spouse. 'Adoptive' father, not to cheat on your spouse for 3 years, leave, and then eventually stop seeing and talking to your children (me he raised for 16 years and his own bio son....)
Being fatherless for years has been a great change!
This is my dad with my daughter, who was six at the time. My dad taught me that love isn't always easy, pretty, peaceful or neat...but always worth fighting for. He taught me that loving your spouse beyond all reason (he and my mom will celebrate their 50th next year) and putting your family first was worth way more than money in the bank. He taught me to stand up for what I believe in, even if you're a kid and the person you are facing is an adult. He was big on 'question authority' even when that authority was HIM. He taught me that doing the right thing is always the hardest thing to do. He taught me that you can love someone and not want them in your life. He taught me that PARENTS are more important than teachers, scout leaders (except when the scout leader is your mom), coaches and bosses..and will ALWAYS be, even when you're in your forties.
He taught me that family is always paramount...even more than friends. Of course, this only applies if your family is worth a crap, which mine is. I definitely got lucky in THAT department!
And yes....I'm teaching my daughter all of that!
Most of all, he taught me that nothing can touch the love between a daddy and his little girl...even when the daddy is 67 and the daughter is 47. I'm such a lucky girl to have this man as my daddy.
My Dad's favorite saying to me was "You're never gonna learn any younger". He always said it to me when I didn't think I could do something. This was his way of gently nudging me to try new things, and it worked. :)
ie: He owned a computer company, and custom built all my computers for me, fixed everything, upgraded etc.. A few years ago I wanted a dvd rom installed (back when they first came out) and he said he had one. I loaded up my computer, took it to him (a one hour drive), took it in his house, and he, picked it up, took it back out to my car then handed me the dvd rom. In a box. And said "Good luck". WHA??? I've never done this! I can't do this! He smiled and said "You're never gonna learn any younger. Call me if you run into problems, but I know you can do this, Tiger." And of course, I did. :)
I now use this on my own kids. Sometimes they hate me for it, but the pride in their faces when they do something new and succeed, is a sight to see :)
We lost him last summer. I've been digging around looking for his writing on everything. I'm going to trace out his letters from his notes and such, and design a tattoo with that saying. His name was Charlie, I have 2 sisters (no brothers) and we were known as "Charlie's Angels". So I'm going to have angel wings around it.
Colossians 2:9-10
- Cafe AmyB
on Jun. 14, 2012 at 3:45 PM