Today’s my dad’s birthday. He would have been 71 year’s
old today, but he passed away a few years ago. I don’t remember exactly when,
as we lost half our immediate family in a three year period. My mom could tell
me, but I’ve always been about birthdays not deathdays. Guess I’m sort of a
half full kind of girl :-) Losing
that many close family members makes a person appreciate what few people she
has left, but it is also makes me appreciate the fact that I am still learning
from my dad.
He always had faith in all his children. No, not just
faith, it was more than that. It was the absolute assurance that his children
could be anything, do anything they wanted. No matter what it was, my dad
completely supported what we did and knew without a doubt that we would be
great. In gymnastics I was going to be the next Olga Korbut (first perfect 10).
In ballet I would be the next Margot Fonteyn. In college I would be the next Tolstoy.
In grad school I would be the next Nobel Prize winner. He never pressured me to
be great. It was always simply that I would be.

That constant positive reinforcement that I grew up with,
I took for the norm. I have since learned that this is not generally the case.
However, I am my father’s daughter and in this profession of romance writing,
my friends will always have my support, encouragement, and absolute faith in
their ability to succeed. Because what I learned from my father this year is
that being the encourager is as fulfilling as being the one encouraged, and
seeing those you care about reaching success is the greatest high. Thank you, Dad.
Always,
Lexi
What a lovely post...your dad sounds like he was one in a million!
ReplyDeleteMarie
Thanks Marie. He was definitely something special :-)
ReplyDeleteFantastic! If only more parents knew the power of simple encouragement. There's probably a book in there somewhere!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dawn. There is always a book ;-)
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