I Love My Daddy
About 12 years ago, my oldest daughter who was then in grade school gave me a tie for Father’s Day. Here’s the tie:
It was a cute tie for sure, but it went into my closet and I never wore it. For those 12 years and through 3 different moves, it stayed with me though, with the tag still on it.
Just recently, my wife and oldest (now a Mom) were talking about Christmas, and my daughter told my wife that she didn’t know what to get me. She specifically brought up that tie that she got me 12 years ago and how I never wore that. Just like her Mom, she remembers everything.
My wife came home after talking to my daughter and told me how hard it was to buy me anything and no one wants to buy me things like ties because I never wear what they buy me. Then she reminded me how I never wore that tie that my oldest gave me as a gift on that special Father’s Day 12 years ago.
I got the message. In fact, I got the message big time. So today, I asked my wife if she knew where that tie was, and she pulled a storage container out from under our bed and pulled out that tie. Since it had every color in the world in it, it went with just about everything in my closet, so I had fun picking just the right clothes to fit that tie.
I put it on, and then we went to church. As my daughter climbed out of her car and looked over at me, a big grin broke out on her face as she then looked at her Mom and said, “so you told him”! But she liked me in that tie. And I kind of liked me in that tie too!
 
I enjoyed the smiles that were created as I arrived at church with this tie on. I also enjoyed the lesson I learned about how folks still remember when they went to great lengths to pick something out for me and then I went to great lengths to store it away with no visible sign of appreciation.
I’m blessed to have a family that loves me in spite of me. I’m grateful that they give me even 12 years to show my appreciation and to in turn tell them how much I love them too.