A Perfect Father’s Day Card
June 16, 2019
I found the perfect Father’s Day card. It is not saturated in sappiness and it is only two lines but a perfect response to the one line he always uses in reference to me, his ONLY daughter. He tells everyone, “Sheryl is my favorite daughter.”
Most Dads and Moms are known for their favorite lines which they use to impart wisdom to their children. These sayings have come to be known as “Dadisms” and “Momisms”, and many of those “isms” are really complicated code substituted for a much easier expression of advice. For example, “to be forewarned is to be forearmed” really meant it was going to rain later in the day so don’t forget to bring your umbrella with you. We as children most likely rolled our eyes and immediately vowed to never talk like that to our children only to hear those exact words come out of our mouths once we had kids.
Dadisms. One-liners packed with sage wisdom. Often cryptic. My dad used to say things like, “Money doesn’t grow on that pear tree out back.” That was his way of saying, “no” when I tried to hit him up for some cash. Or he would say, “Do what you have to do,” when I would ask permission to go somewhere or to take a day off from work when he was my boss. That was code for, “I don’t really want you to.” Or he would often say, “Do what makes you happy,” although deep inside he wanted what made me happy to be what made him happy.
I’m sure I did my share of eye rolling and pinky swearing to never say those things to anybody, but the truth is, I love my Dad’s “isms” and I learned many pieces of wisdom from them. I learned to work hard, respect money, be loyal, love family, keep my head down when swinging my golf club, and lift my head up to face my fears. I learned to punch in at 7:20 when the work day began at 7:30 and to clock out at 5:10 when the work day ended at 5:00. He taught me the story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” so that I would grow up to be a person who told the truth and kept their word.
Thanks, Dad, for all the wisdom you have given over the years, and continue to give! Thank you for my favorite Dadism, “You’re my favorite daughter.” Now I leave you with my favorite “daughterism”:
“My dad’s great. He’s one of my favorite parents!”
“Hear, my son, your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching; indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head and ornaments about your neck.”
Proverbs 1:8-9