Blessings

My father wasn’t the kind of dad who said “I love you.” And I followed suit.  So our conversations were normal everyday kinds of things.  But we didn’t say the things that I thought fathers and sons should say to each other.  And I regretted that.

He had heart trouble.  At one point he was in the hospital and he was scared. And he asked me to shave him…a thing I’d never imagined doing. There was something intimate in doing that for my dad.  So I seized the moment and blurted out the words that were stuck in my throat for many years. “I haven’t said this for a long time, but I love you dad.” 

Dad didn’t/couldn’t say anthing in return.  I was hoping he would.  

A week later I visited him at home. He put his arm around my shoulder and squeezed it...a hug really. And that felt so good.  I knew it was his way of saying “I love you too.” A couple of weeks later he died.  I’m so glad we blessed each other before it was too late.

Blessings can be words or gestures.  Who blesses you and how?  Whom do you bless and in what ways?  Think of someone you’d like to bless this week.