What My Dad Said
30 Years Later I Remember It Clearly
The funny thing is: it’s the small things we remember. The big milestones, celebrations, and goals that we have in life are fun and exciting, but our impactful, personal memories come from ordinary events.
Many of my memories of growing up consist of riding in various cars or trucks. We drove everywhere, and many of the vehicles barely had a tape deck. There were no personal digital devices; it was the radio or talking. And Dad would talk all the time.
The talk was about anything and everything. Topics could be mundane or profound: what he had been reading, the news, events in our family, observations on life (and observations on other drivers). Sitting across the truck’s bench seat, I was often an audience of one.
We pulled into the driveway one afternoon, and he parked the vehicle. I cannot recall the context of the conversation up to that point, but I remember him turning to me and saying:
“This world is flawed. And I fear that I have not equipped you to live in it comfortably. But I have done the best I know how to teach you the truth. I hope that’s enough.”
In one statement, relayed as part of an otherwise uneventful car ride, my father expressed the totality of his parenting goals: to equip his son with the truth.
I can remember the interaction clearly, nearly three decades later.
That truth has been sufficient, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. (Thanks, Dad.)
Let’s remember to be on the lookout for wisdom and truth when it shows up in our daily life. It’s in the ordinary events that we get to the heart of things.
Originally published at https://fjwriting.com on October 14, 2020.
