I have always looked up to my dad. That doesn’t mean we always saw eye to eye, but he helped me navigate my younger years with a finesse I can only hope to possess when I have kids. The lessons he taught my brother and I have always stuck with me. I want to pass on three of those lessons to you today.
Lesson One: Servant Leadership
My dad moved out to California with my mom in the late eighties from Colorado. My dad was a framer by trade (construction worker building the skeleton of the house) and went where the work was. Unfortunately, there was more business in the Bay Area than there was in the Sacramento area. This meant starting his days at 5:00 on the road to get down there by 7:00 some days. Turn back around for another two-hour trip home and it was time for dinner.
I did not understand at the time this was what he had to do to support the family. I thought it was crazy that he would CHOOSE to drive that far. The reality was, he CHOSE to love us that much. As a leader of the house, he elected to do the hard work in order for us to have a good life. That was a lesson that was never verbally communicated yet was always communicated by actions.
Lesson Two: Finish What You Start
My dad had a tendency to go all out. Our street shows were elaborate on the Fourth of July! Our playhouse in the backyard was two stories tall. He always went the extra mile to make us happy! Sometimes, however, he had to be tough.
AYSO soccer is something almost every kid participates in at some point. Either my parents or myself thought it would be a good idea to put me on a team. To this day I still hate running… I wanted to quit after the first game. My dad had that talk with me, though, and I will never forget it. You may hate it, and you may hate the coach, and you may hate running, but you don’t quit on your teammates. Team over me was in the culture pretty early at my household.
Lesson Three: Always Ask Which Way the Tub Runs
My dad is originally from Iowa. In Iowa they play a card game called Euchre. This game puts you and a teammate on a team sitting across from each other. Every single time he would sit down with his partner, he would ask the owner of the house which way the tub runs. After they would tell him he would say, “because it’s good luck to sit with the tub” as he and his partner would sit down that direction.
The game of Euchre itself is as much about the lingo and trash talk as it is about the card play. Asking the opponent about the tub before the game even started was my dad’s way of rattling the cage before the game even started. You may not always have the cards, but you certainly can have a winning mindset. Sometimes, that competitive fire and edge is all you need for the opponent to make a mistake.
I hope you were able to spend time with your fathers this weekend! Leave some life lessons your father has provided you in the comments below, we would love to hear about them! Have a great week!
