It had been a couple of weeks since I talked to my dad. He had called a few times and got my voicemail. I had tried to call him back and he was at work or dealing with other things. My mom sent me a text message, asking that I call home since my dad was there. The first thing he said was, \u2018Well hello, stranger! Feels like I haven\u2019t talked to my boy in weeks\u2019. He hadn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
It was interesting to hear what I could only describe as enthusiasm and excitement in my father to hear from me. I guess this might sound surprising in and of itself, but my father has never really been one to be too expressive with his emotions. He\u2019d say that he loves my sister and me, and I know he does. It\u2019s just not something we\u2019ve ever really \u2018gotten into\u2019.<\/p>\n
So, in that, it was really surprising to hear that he had, in essence, missed me. It makes me think about how we\u2019re all getting older. My dad was talking to me about what he thinks what cars will be running on in 30 years, and how electric cars are going to be the way of the future and he said something along the lines of, \u2018I mean in 30 years I won\u2019t be alive to see it\u2019. And I\u2019ve never really heard my dad talk about himself like that, like he\u2019d be gone someday. He\u2019s 60 now. 60.<\/p>\n
I think I\u2019ve always had this sense of eternal youth in terms of how I looked at my parents. They were the grown-ups that cared for me growing up. It doesn\u2019t register, at least not to me, that they\u2019re getting older until it\u2019s been a while since you\u2019ve seen them and there\u2019s more gray hair and there\u2019s more signs of aging. We\u2019re not always going to be here forever.<\/p>\n
Sometimes I will catch myself sounding exactly like my dad in terms of inflection. We have very similar styles of humor and comedy. My own is based heavily on his. We\u2019d riff about bad movies on Friday nights and watch action movies together. It was a real bonding thing for us, and he said he hadn\u2019t watched some movie whose name I can\u2019t remember because \u2018he didn\u2019t have his boy there to watch it with him\u2019. That struck a chord.<\/p>\n
He said he came across some old college tests I took, and noted that I scored in some top percentile. He said he was a proud papa. That he knew I was always smart.<\/p>\n
It was interesting.<\/p>\n
I wonder what my dad\u2019s going through lately. What he\u2019s feeling. I wonder if recent events has him thinking about how many times he\u2019ll have to see his children, and how many good years he has to live life and get some form of enjoyment out of it. It made me think that my mom and dad are not just my mom and dad. They are people with feelings, hopes, ambitions, and everything else. There was a time where I didn\u2019t exist, and they only had themselves to live for. How has their perception of life changed over the years of watching me and my sister grow into people.<\/p>\n
I should call my dad more often.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It had been a couple of weeks since I talked to my dad. He had called a few times and got my voicemail. I had tried to call him back and he was at work or dealing with other things. My mom sent me a text message, asking that I call home since my dad … Continue reading My Father’s Son<\/span>