Tell It To Me Tuesday - "when I was a child"
When I was a child I trusted in my dad 100%. I always felt that he had things under control. I knew that if he was around everything was going to be fine. He never showed any frustration or worry. At least not that I ever saw. I think the first time I saw him flustered and nervous about something was when I was 10. We were living in Guam at the time and were on a 15-day tour through China. We were in one of the smaller cities at the airport waiting for our flight. It was overbooked and our tour guide had to do some finagling to get everyone in our tour a boarding pass. (Of course I didn't know this at the time.) I begged my dad to let me hold my boarding pass. I was obviously capable; I was 10 after all and had been on more planes than I could count. He relented and when it came time to board I couldn't find my boarding pass. I told my dad and this look crossed his face. I can't describe it other than fear. He immediately told our tour guide and they both went up to the check-in counter to try and figure something out. Amazingly, even though the flight was overbooked and getting on a plane in this little city was cut-throat, someone had turned in the dropped boarding pass. I was getting on the plane after all. Many years later I remember my dad telling me that he wasn't sure what he would have done if my boarding pass had indeed disappeared. But not once do I remember him losing his cool with me. Never did he berate me for dropping it. The only thing I remember him saying was on the next flight, he asked if I was interested in holding my boarding pass again. My reply? "Will you just hold it for me?"
One of my goals in life is to be a parent that is half as patient and half as supportive as my dad was/is. Granted he worked full-time and wasn't with us 24/7, but I can count on one hand the number of times he lost his cool with me over the years. I'm sad to say that my girls can't say that about me, but I'm hoping to outnumber those prior offenses with my new-found patience.
One of my goals in life is to be a parent that is half as patient and half as supportive as my dad was/is. Granted he worked full-time and wasn't with us 24/7, but I can count on one hand the number of times he lost his cool with me over the years. I'm sad to say that my girls can't say that about me, but I'm hoping to outnumber those prior offenses with my new-found patience.
Check out how others have completed the above sentence at Jade's.
Wow, I am so impressed. Your father sounds like an amazing man. And you're probably better at being calm and patient than you think you are.
ReplyDeletethat's an incredible memory to have of your father.
ReplyDeletethis past weekend during the move i yelled at my niece. she was in total shock. to her Aunt Boo is perfect. a normally outgoing child, she hid under a blanket behind her mother for 30 minutes afterward :(
I can relate to this. Not the part about living in Guam and traveling to China, but the part about your dad. My dad has always been like a rock for me, too. He remains one of the best people I know.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a powerful memory and a powerful parenting model to emulate. I don't think I would/could have been nearly as calm. Maybe that's what dads are for, though. =>
ReplyDeletewhat a wonderful father :-) you are lucky! i didn't have a dad till i turned 15.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I am not as cool as your dad. I'm so impressed that he didn't lose it right there in the airport. Wow. Reading this makes me more aware of the fact that I lose my cool with my kids too much. Way too much. I think I'll keep that little girl with the lost boarding pass in mind my when I want to yell at my kids from now on!
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