Fathers know the important things

Last weekend I was squished in my seat in the Otter, waiting to get to 13,000 feet so I could jump out of the icky hot airplane. The only way to keep mildly comfortable when sitting in a packed Otter is to turn your body slightly "downhill" and put your arm around the person next to you. I had my arm around the guy next to me, who I had seen around the dropzone off and on for the past few years, but who I knew nothing about. I didn't even know his name. I started thinking about that and realized how ridiculous it was. I had my sweaty arm wrapped around this guy, I was breathing in his ear, snugly squished in next to him like a sardine, and I had probably been in the same position with him a dozen other times. And I didn't know his name?!

A few years ago Dan and I lost a friend. I remember being at his memorial and seeing his friends and family celebrate the life that he had lived. I vividly remember having the thought, How sad that we waited till after he's gone to celebrate this wonderful person. He was one of the most generous, selfless, kind people all of us had ever known. I wish I had told him what I thought of him before he died. A few weeks after his death, I sent him an email, obviously knowing it would never be read, but I told him what a good friend he had been to Dan and me and that I appreciated his kindness and generosity and that I wished I would have said all of that much sooner.

Now that I'm a mother, things like this have much more meaning. These are the concepts I want to teach my son. I want him to accept and love everyone. I want him to take the opportunity to really know people and make them feel special. I want him to be able express himself comfortably with the people he loves. The only way to give him the chance to do these things is to set a good example for him.

MY father has been THE absolute best role model for everything I just mentioned. He would never sit on a plane next to someone and not know his name, what college he went to and what his favorite sports team was within 30 seconds (of course, you'd never find him on a plane period, especially a skydiving plane). He never passes up an opportunity to tell people how much he loves them or how proud he is of them or to give them a big, sincere hug. He genuinely wants to know everyone he meets and he instantly makes them feel loved. He is friendly, kind and considerate to every single person who crosses his path, with ZERO exceptions. As far as I'm concerned, these are the really important things in life. All that really matters is how you treat the people you share this world with.

Thanks for being such a good role model for my son and for me, DAD, and Happy (early) Father's Day! I love you! (Have a safe trip across the country this weekend!)

Elijah says:
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