The lucky man has a daughter as his first child. —Spanish Proverb
Years ago, my parents gave me a book about daughters for Christmas. Or maybe my birthday. Or Valentine’s Day. I don’t remember. That’s hardly the point. The book is full of quotes, stories, and little tidbits about parents and daughters. I keep it next to a picture of them, and read it every now and then. The above proverb is one of the quotes in this book, and I tease my dad mercilessly about it because I’m the oldest child. And I’m way better than Chance (the brother). More on the quote later. Moving on.
I’m now almost a month late on my Father’s Day blog post (life is fluid…oops), but I wanted to write about my daddy. Yes I am 25 and still call him that….I will always call him that. My dad is a teacher. So what better way to honor the best teacher I know than to share with the world what he’s taught me? And I’m not talking just about what he taught me in school (because he was literally my teacher in 7th & 8th grade).
My dad taught me…
- …to be humble. Never once has my dad ever implied that he is too good, too rich, too poor, too old, too young, too anything to deserve a thing just because of that reason. And he made sure that my brother and I never thought so either.
- …that you work for what you want. This ties into the above statement. You’re no better or no worse than anyone else around you. So you work your ass off for what you want. Whether it’s your job, a vacation, your home – it is your job to go get it. And to never stop working to keep it.
- …that lessons learned from sports transcend the years you play them. Dad’s also a coach. Teamwork, persistence, dedication, knowing to drink enough water, and never ever EVER walking on what is supposed to be a running workout are just a few of those lessons.
- …how to mow. I hated this one. I still from time to time hate this one. But I’m glad I know how.
- …that money management is important to not only surviving in life, but enjoying it. I am not very good at this one. There are many times that my want for a new book or an iced mocha wins out over my need to make it to the next payday, but the reason I know how to budget and why it’s important is because of my dad.
- …that you earn respect by respecting others. I’ve never met anyone who is more respected than my dad. I have also never met someone who respects others more than my dad does. That is not a coincidence.
I could continue talking about lessons that I learned and continue to learn from Papa Bear. He is certainly deserving of recognition for all of them. I want to make it known that I in no way believe I have fully understood and embody these. I am a work in progress.
The best teachers push you to improve yourself, and continue teaching you for your whole life. So thank you dad….thank you for even now continuing to push me to be my best self. Thank you for being my favorite teacher.
Back to the quote. Yes, I will always always say that I am the better kid, and that the quote contains the truest words ever written. But honestly? I am the lucky one. Because you are my daddy. I love you!
