I’m
not sure how old I was at the time, but the scene is still vivid in my
mind. Dad was sitting in the car, with Mom in the front passenger seat.
We were all headed somewhere, and Mom and Dad were waiting for us. Several
of us kids piled out of the house and jumped in the back seat.
Before
backing out of the driveway, Dad turned around and pointed his finger at
us and said in that certain “don’t mess with Dad” tone of voice: “I don’t
want your mother to ever wait for you again. If she is taking you someplace,
I want you to always be the ones waiting for her.”
He
wasn’t particularly angry, but that tone of voice still echoes in my ears…
and I don’t think Mom ever did wait for me again – at least when things
were under my control.
The
lesson I learned that day was that waiting is one of the best ways to honor
someone. In life, someone is always waiting for someone else. Dad taught
me to honor others by being the one that waits. Over the years I have tried
to wait not only for my Mom, but for everyone. I tried to be early to meetings,
early to school, early to everything. If someone had to wait, I wanted
it to be me.
Waiting
can be a frustrating experience, but my Dad’s lesson turned that frustration
completely around. When I wait for people now, I say to myself: “this is
my chance to honor this person.”
So
Dad, I still try to be the one waiting for others (especially Mom). I bet
when you said those words you had no idea what an impact they would have.
