“My Dad was a mechanic- we lived in Florida. [With a] hurricane coming, I was a kid and he was fixing ice cream truck. He took all the kids from our bldg to eat up the ice cream ’cause it would’ve melted. It was the 60s. We had just arrived in US. He was a hero to all the kids in the bldg.” -Maria G.
“Back in the days when high school girls were being funneled into nursing schools, I was kind of interested. My father, a college professor, “adjusted” that leaning a bit by bringing home the catalog for NYU’s nursing program, which included a bachelor’s degree. “So,” he said, “you could do that and get both your RN and a BS.” Two beats. “You’re going to wind up being a writer anyway, but that’s okay.” Dad 1, nursing school 0. It wasn’t so much advice as a way of telling me that he knew who I was and he was on my team. What a gift.” – Nancy M.
“Turn off the juice when not in use. He who hesitates is lost. All good things come to she who waits. – Marion C.
“My dad owned an electrical contracting business in our small town in Illinois. I made the mistake once as a teenager of referring to one of the electricians as a person “who works FOR you.” My dad immediately corrected me saying, “they all work WITH me.” A few years later, I was struggling trying to decide on a future major. Dad made several suggestions that didn’t appeal to me. I finally whined, “but I want to help people.” His response was, “there will always be opportunities to help people in whatever job you choose.” He was right on both counts. I had a great career in which I’d like to think I made a difference for others and I had fun working with a lot of smart people.” – Jackie B.
“My dad was an engineer/machinist, so his style was always country with love. When we had a scrape or cut and would burst into tears, he’d say “Awe, I had cuts worse than that on my eyeball!””- Debbie S.
“My father had a wonderful sense of humor and gave me three important instructions to guide me on my path of adulthood: keep your mouth shut and your airway open, engage brain before setting mouth in motion, and lastly – when all else fails, follow instructions. Not only do those admonitions make me laugh, but the older I get, the more I utilize them to navigate my life!! It also keeps my dad alive in my heart.” – Margery M.
“I learned the most from my dad by observing his actions. He’s the embodiment of hard work, integrity, and honesty. Along with those qualities, he taught me how to change my oil and a tire so I would never have to rely on someone else.” -Tammy G.
“My step dad was a golfer, so “Hit it in the middle of the fairway and have the right club if you have to hit it out of the rough.” – Debra A.
“While Dad didn’t specifically say this expression often, if he had a mantra, it would be ‘laughter is the best medicine’. My friends always loved to come over to visit because Dad was always making funny quips. Not so much telling jokes but just making life fun and funny. And as far as laughter being the best medicine, it seemed to work for him…he lived a very healthy life with effectively no disease until his death at 96 of old age.” – Debbie J.
“My dad taught me about nature. He was an outdoors man and when I was growing up he spent much of his time outside enjoying the world around him. He loved animals and his gift was teaching me how a dog will always give me unconditional love and be my best friend.” -Robin G.
