One of the BEST Moments of my Adult Life

[Kevin Daly]

So this last Sunday my parents came out to our house to see the new baby. (As if I wasn't having a really great week with the birth of my 2nd child). While they were out, my dad said something to me that I will NEVER, EVER, forget and I have already made a point to say the same thing to my children when the time comes.
First, a little back ground on my dad. I think saying that he was a Drill Instructor during the early days of the Vietnam war gives you an idea of how things ran around our house growing up. My dad and I don't have much in common, which is not to say we don't get along or don't love each other, but there just isn't that much to talk about when we are together.

As we were walking out to get somethings out of his car he turned to me and said:

"I want to tell you that I am proud of how you have turned out, as a son, as a husband, as a father, and as a man."

To say I was stunned is a massive understatement. I think I knew he felt that way, but to hear him say it meant the world to me.

So if you are a father, and if your children have made you proud, make sure to tell them. I can tell you for a FACT that it means more than any present or other material gift you might give them.

Nice!

Compliments, like curses, mean much more when they are only used at oportune moments From one father to another

 

[eeksnake]

Thanks for a great thread TriggerT.

My Father passed 2 years ago this December. He was a very sensitive, caring & gentle-man who would tell me those very same words on occasion.

As many times as I heard "I'm proud of you", I never grew tired of hearing it.

Just like FJRMGM...

"I thanked him for helping me be that person."

'Til we ride together again Pop.

 

[feejer222]

My dad told me he was proud of me 2 days before he died. It was on a hospital ward just as I was leaving. He had said it before, but this time I was slightly taken aback, and just smiled and winked. I thought for the 2 remaining days, (not knowing that they were to be his last), about all the things I should have said back. The one I had decided on was 'I am proud of you too dad'. Sadly I never got to say it to him. He knew I loved him though, I can comfortably console myself with that thought.

He was as good a father as I could have wished for and even now 7 years on, when I get in a bind, I think 'what would dad say' and that often leads me to a logical answer to my problem.

He had been a traffic cop in his early life and hated bikes after seeing some bad accidents back in the days when there was no such thing as protective gear and helmets were very basic, if you even bothered with one. Still he tollerated my passion, and now that I am a father I realise, and I am sorry for the way it must have tormented him every time I went out on the bike.

Sorry dad, miss you.

 

[Joe2Lmaker]

A few years ago, my grandfather died. Several family members made the trip from the Twin Cities to South Dakota for the funeral. Before we made the return trip my sister suggested that I drive my dad home. I agreed; she drove my car and I drove for my dad in his truck. That's a trip I won't forget.

My dad was in his early sixties at the time and devastated.

He never felt as if he measured up. My grandpa's death meant that my dad was never going to get the acceptance he desperately wanted from his dad.

 

[scmagna]

I remember visiting my grandparents' graves with my Dad. He would get pretty sad, then hug all of us kids together and tell us how much he loved each of us. It made a very strong impression on me. He and I had some pretty rough sledding over the years, but I always remembered his heartfelt words and hugs, if way in the back of my mind at times. Those moments helped us recover from the difficult years and we now are able to share the years we have left.

 

[SMC]

Good for you TriggerT!!! Most of us would give our left arm if our parents would give us their blessing and approval of who we are, unfortunately that doesn't happen all the time.

Consider yourself blessed that it happened to you.

Most familes, don't seem to get to this point and many times one or the other person dies before the words can be said leaving

a empty void in the other person's life.

 

[Old Michael]

This whole goddamned forum has been reducing me to goddamned tears every goddamned night for the last goddamned week.

Thanks for the posts.

I sat at my father's bedside and watched him leave a few years ago, and I remember cursing myself for not being a better son and a better father.

From an old man - Don't wait until you're at the bedside or on the bed.