Son’s Regret

In our church this weekend, the pastor asked the congregation how many still have their fathers with them. Several hands rose up. He then told them that they are very fortunate, for there are many people in this world who have no more dads or never knew their dads. He further admonished us, as he slightly choked-up in tears, to appreciate our dads while we still can. I don’t know what our pastors’ regret, but I also did choked up in tears in my seat as I listened to him.

Do not get me wrong, my father and I had a good relationship. We spent much time together as a family. And I love my father very much. But I regret, that I have not been much expressive in letting him know that, or letting him hear my appreciation of him, while he was still living.

Men, more so than women, usually are not good in expressing their feelings. We don’t let our loved ones know our appreciation of them, at least in words.

When my father got sick, and after he underwent a second brain surgery for a deep-seated brain tumor, he never recovered to speak again. And in one of his last nights in the hospital, I stood there by his bedside, and I struggled to tell him how much I am grateful and appreciative of him. But it was a monologue…….for my father was almost comatose.

Shortly after my father died, a song by Mike and the Mechanics, titled “The Living Years” became popular. And this song up to this day, bring tears to my eyes, as it expressed my regret exactly:

I wasn’t there that morning

When my father passed away,

I didn’t get to tell him

All the things I had to say.

I think I caught his spirit

Later that same year,

I’m sure I heard his echo

In my baby’s newborn tears

I just wish I could have told him in the living years.

Say it loud, say it clear

You can listen as well as you hear

It’s too late when we die

To admit we don’t see eye to eye.

I know I have written a few articles as a tribute to my father, and I hope my life is a living tribute to his legacy. But I still wish I could have told him that I really love him, in his living years.

For all of you who still have your fathers with you, tell him how you appreciate him………. while you still can.

Happy Father’s Day.