I don’t really know why I bother to post anything personal here, but I feel safe enough behind this screen and due is due.
I made my dad cry yesterday.
My parents are divorced; they live close to each other though, so my sisters and I easily move back and forth. We go to my dad’s every second weekend and stay there till Monday morning when we leave for school. I usually just read books or use my computer for whatever when I’m at my dad’s; we’re so much alike and always end up fighting, which always results in a frosty air between us.
Yesterday, my dad stuck his head into the hallway where I sat with my computer and told me that he wanted me to mow the lawn. As per usual, I sighed loudly and replied ‘sure, whatever’, my voice dripping with sarcasm and grumpiness. Usually, my father ignores it or gets pissed, but this time he didn’t. Instead, my dad took a chair; sat down, looked me right in the eye and asked ‘don’t you think it’s fair?’
I’m ‘good’ at arguing, and it quickly escalated with my dad reminding me that this was his house and scolding me for never helping with the practical stuff, etcetera. However, instead of turning the thing into a yelling match, however, my dad calmed down and started talking. Really talking.
Son, it’s not about the lawn, or the dishes, or the laundry, it’s about doing things as a family.
You’re right, you don’t ask for much, you don’t really ask for anything other than peace and food. I just wish that you’d show some enthusiasm sometimes; offer to help and be an active member of this family. If we don’t try to be a family, then we might as well just be strangers living in the same house, and I don’t want that.
You’re right, I could stop asking you to do these things, but if I just completely left you to your own devices then we’d become strangers to each other, and I don’t want that. I’m sure that when you get children of your own you’d want to be with them and help them and be helped by them.
You’re right, you greet the guests and my girlfriend and everyone else, but that’s it. You don’t show enthusiasm, you just retreat back to your usual spot and put on your headphones. I’d really wish that you’d give it an extra push sometimes and show some of that good spirit I know you have.
I remember when we were at my girlfriend’s house and her nephew, an older boy, came to visit her. He was a very enthusiastic and friendly boy, and on the way home you said that you wanted to be just like that when you grew up. I really liked that enthusiasm.
If I don’t yell and bark you just park yourself in here for the entire weekend and go back to your mother’s. Every time I stick my head inside the hallway I see a young man who’s wasting all the power of his youth away on not doing anything.
By then, my father was tearing up, so he got up and went into his bedroom. You know what I did? I went outside and mowed the lawn. Didn’t shed a tear.
I made my dad cry yesterday.
My parents are divorced; they live close to each other though, so my sisters and I easily move back and forth. We go to my dad’s every second weekend and stay there till Monday morning when we leave for school. I usually just read books or use my computer for whatever when I’m at my dad’s; we’re so much alike and always end up fighting, which always results in a frosty air between us.
Yesterday, my dad stuck his head into the hallway where I sat with my computer and told me that he wanted me to mow the lawn. As per usual, I sighed loudly and replied ‘sure, whatever’, my voice dripping with sarcasm and grumpiness. Usually, my father ignores it or gets pissed, but this time he didn’t. Instead, my dad took a chair; sat down, looked me right in the eye and asked ‘don’t you think it’s fair?’
I’m ‘good’ at arguing, and it quickly escalated with my dad reminding me that this was his house and scolding me for never helping with the practical stuff, etcetera. However, instead of turning the thing into a yelling match, however, my dad calmed down and started talking. Really talking.
Son, it’s not about the lawn, or the dishes, or the laundry, it’s about doing things as a family.
You’re right, you don’t ask for much, you don’t really ask for anything other than peace and food. I just wish that you’d show some enthusiasm sometimes; offer to help and be an active member of this family. If we don’t try to be a family, then we might as well just be strangers living in the same house, and I don’t want that.
You’re right, I could stop asking you to do these things, but if I just completely left you to your own devices then we’d become strangers to each other, and I don’t want that. I’m sure that when you get children of your own you’d want to be with them and help them and be helped by them.
You’re right, you greet the guests and my girlfriend and everyone else, but that’s it. You don’t show enthusiasm, you just retreat back to your usual spot and put on your headphones. I’d really wish that you’d give it an extra push sometimes and show some of that good spirit I know you have.
I remember when we were at my girlfriend’s house and her nephew, an older boy, came to visit her. He was a very enthusiastic and friendly boy, and on the way home you said that you wanted to be just like that when you grew up. I really liked that enthusiasm.
If I don’t yell and bark you just park yourself in here for the entire weekend and go back to your mother’s. Every time I stick my head inside the hallway I see a young man who’s wasting all the power of his youth away on not doing anything.
By then, my father was tearing up, so he got up and went into his bedroom. You know what I did? I went outside and mowed the lawn. Didn’t shed a tear.
