To the Old Men

We were a pain in your ass.  We whined and we moaned.  We contradicted.

We did exactly what you told us not to do because we were kids that thought we knew everything.  And you watched and laughed and helped us through again and again.

“Damn, the old man was right.”  That’s what we would say.  Say under our breath.  Say after it didn’t work out as well as we thought it would.  And over the years we’ve realized just how wrong we were about so many things.  Sometimes these things were obvious right away, but others took time.

Nowadays when we’re convinced that we’re right, we remember all those times we ended up being wrong and do our best to think about it a while first.  Maybe we’re not the smartest people in the history of the world after all.

Of all the lessons you’ve taught us over the years, that’s the one that sticks the most.  And that lesson has probably taken us further in life than anything else we’ve learned.

We’re still not perfect, but sure as hell aren’t as bad as we used to be.

Here’s to you, Dad.