Instead he says, “Be careful driving.”
We don’t spend much time with each other, we don’t have a weekly phone call, and we don’t share our deepest darkest secrets with each other.
But every time we get together, whether we share an afternoon lunch or have a check up call over the phone, my dad has never not said, “Be careful driving.”
My dad has always been my hero. He feels right. When I was 9, my dad had to go away and I had to live with my grandparents, aunts & uncles, or mom, it didn’t feel right. Something was missing. I wanted my dad around.
I got what I wanted when I was 13. Since then, my dad has always been in my life, through thick and thin, though all my crazy ventures, girl heartbreaks, and misdemeanors.
Nowadays, every time he says, “Be careful driving,” I respond with “I love you too, dad.”
He smiles, every time.
Something awing happens, silence arises, and there’s a brief moment of admiration between each other.
A brief moment of magic.