Thank You To My Dad On Father’s Day
I am both a son and a father. How fortunate I am. My father, is now 87 and my son is 21. I am in this mystical state of being were I experience both sides of the equation, enjoying… no–make that reveling–in the intense comfort and satisfaction of both relationships.
Of course, it hasn’t always been this way. As we all know, a father/son relationship has its ups and downs, its bumps and smooth sailing, and I have experienced both in my journeys as a father and as a son. However, as I write my thoughts here at 59 years old, I can say the following:
I was not always happy with the tough lessons my Dad taught me. He was not always my friend. He drove me hard, harassed me when I missed the mark, pushed me to achieve my best and insisted that I accept my responsibilities, work as hard as I could and stay on course. Naturally, as all sons do, I resisted and rebelled, wanted to do things my way to achieve my goals when, frequently, I had no idea what those even were.
But I know one thing for certain, I learned far more from watching my Dad work harder himself than he ever worked me, demanding more out of himself then he ever demanded from me, reaching his goals with a fierce determination and intense focus, never wavering for a moment, always striving, and succeeding on his own terms in his own way. And succeed he did.
I was not always aware of his tremendous success in accomplishing what he has achieved, but now as I read my own son’s wonderful note on my Fathers Day card (“I haven’t always made this job easy but you haven’t faltered for one second…”), I think, wow, I am thankful for him beginning to understanding my commitment to his development, just as my Dad demonstrated to me.
I thank my father, more than he can ever know, for being who he is, a man with the highest sense of responsibility, self-determination and selflessness, a man who sacrificed himself for his family, a man who learned from his Dad and passed it down to me, that I may do the same for my son. I learned over time by watching my Dad live, how important his demonstration has been to my own development and now my son says the same thing, noting that I have never faltered in my efforts.
What does all this have to do with business development? Perhaps as managers and owners we must practice and demonstrate the values we want our businesses and employees to emulate, to live by and work by.
Dad, I say thank you for maintaining your standards, doing your thing, succeeding and being a clear example to me of how to live. Now, my son is beginning to get the message as well. To truly get it, he will, of course, need to pay many more dues and live out a lot more of his life, but he is beginning to see and understand a bit of the message as he develops his own life journey.
The heritage we pass on from father to son is the message of how to live and how to succeed. Live the message, teach by doing. This applies to your workplace as well.
Happy Father’s Day, Dad. You have done the best job possible.
I am the daughter. Reading this entry gives me such a different perspective because the words said by my father about my grandfather are exactly what I would assume my brother would say about our father, for that matter, they are pretty close to what I’d say also.
There are so many people who say negative things about their childhood; I can’t even explain how lucky I feel about never, ever being able to say something like that.
I am so appreciative of everything that both my parents have given me, it’s comforting to know that my father feels the same way towards his own parents…. At this point I want to give and give – back to them, and at some point when I’m ready to have children I’ll work my best to mimic all the wonderful things my parents did for me.
It’s such an incredible thing – to give everything to the people you love the most. It makes every event, gathering, and conversation that much better.
Over time I’ve found that just showing up – to various events, gatherings, and conversations will develop and continue the relationships far beyond. My father always does so much more then just show up. He shows up with flair… every time. I hope that I’ll show up with as much flair as he did, and my children for their children etc. I wish that everyone I know was as lucky as I am, and that everyone was blessed with as solid a foundation as exists in my family.
Fortunately, I am not yet father and son, I am only a son at the age 21. However it is not only interesting, but slightly amusing to hear you, my father’s comments regarding being a son yourself.
I am most certain you have learned from your father in your methods of raising me. Having your own child, you are given the opportunity to choose which things you liked about your fathers fathering, and which aspects you don’t wish to engage me in. I most certainly agree, I don’t always like the way you teach me things, or the way you go about your fathering duties. However here I am, almost a college graduate, and I think I am in pretty good shape.
You can choose any number of ways to raise a child. However the best teaching device, is when you are not trying to teach me anything at all. Your mere existence as a brutally hard worker, a tenacious professional, a herculian warrior, and a devoted father demonstrates what a man should be like. You can try and teach me anything you want, but many say talk is cheap. Instead, you show me through actions. You show me how to walk the walk.
At the end of the day, your father did a pretty stellar job. For he was not one who just talks, and nor are you. Allow me to follow in these foot steps.