Things My Father Taught Me

adminUncategorized%s Comments

When I was four years old, my Dad had a bright yellow Jeep Wrangler.  It often backfired when it started so I dubbed it “The Boom Boom”.  I remember taking long drives up and down the coast of Lake Michigan in the Boom Boom, my Dad telling me stories of his childhood and teaching me about things we saw along the way.  On the very hottest of summer days, those drives ended with an ice cream cone at Ruth Anne’s- Superman, of course.

Long drives and stories about his past haven’t ended as I’ve gotten older; when I think of my Dad, I think of riding in the car, going for walks or sitting at the dinner table hours after we’ve finished our meal, talking about the big Italian family days, childhood memories and lessons his Dad passed down to him.  I never want those conversations to end but when they do, I’m always left thinking “Man, my Dad is the best.”

My Dad has taught me to always be tough; there’s a difference between being aggressive and assertive and in standing up for yourself, assertive is the best, most self respecting way to go.  He’s taught me to hold my head up high in situations I deem impossible because that’s when it’s important- the difference between winning and losing is in your attitude and how quick you are to rely on your own strengths.  He’s taught me that good wine is the kind of wine you like, that exercise is essential to a strong mind, that cleaning is in fact a recreational activity but most of all, my Dad has taught me this:

“That we can and will get through anything because we are a family and we get through it together.”

Happy Fathers Day to my biggest hero.