6 Life Lessons My Dad Taught Me

Happy Father’s Day! Today I’ll be hanging out with my 3 guys, celebrating Alex however he wants – let’s be honest, it will probably include barbeque. I’ve said it a million times here on the blog, but I am so grateful and lucky to have him as my partner in parenting crime day in and day out. He’s pretty much the furthest from sappy, though, so I try to keep it low key around him 😉

On the other hand, my own father definitely appreciates a good dose of sap. So for Father’s Day, since I won’t be hanging out with him (he’s working) I thought it would be nice to share with you some of the life lessons he’s taught me in my 25 years. (not all of them willingly, I should note, ha!)

First things first, it’s important to note that my dad is a character. He’s willing to try anything, will roll with any joke you throw at him, and is always the life of the party. He’s the most loyal person I know, holds a strong importance for his family, and is willing to help anyone at the drop of a dime. He’s a giant goofball, basically a 12 year old in a 55 year old’s body, which has made my childhood both so.much.fun and also very, very annoying.

He’s big on teaching things – be it practical skills like working with your hands or grander life lessons, and because of this I’ve learned some of my most cherished life lessons from him. So here we go – here is just a taste of some of the awesome life lessons my dad taught me!

Don’t be too serious. If you talk to a single person who knows my dad, they’ll tell you he’s always telling (very, very, very corny) jokes or laughing. It’s hard to make my dad angry – though I definitely tried during my teenage years. My dad has always taught me not to take life too seriously. Everything will pass, and nothing will be forever. There’s no need to stress and fuss over every little down moment, especially the ones that you can’t control.

Have faith it will all work out and it will all work out. Have you ever really, really needed $5 and then found it in your pocket? Every single day, that’s my dad. When he needs something, instead of stressing about it, he sends it out into the universe with faith that it will all work out and I kid you not, people, in one way or another it always works out. He believes that what you put out into the world will come back to you, and I think that such an amazing lesson to learn.

School is important. But so are life experiences. When we were in high school, college wasn’t an option. It was just the next step, no question. And grades were important. My dad knew that my brother and I were smart enough to make good grades, so if we weren’t it was because we were being lazy. While my dad always put a strong importance on school, though, he put an even bigger emphasis on life experiences. Even now, when I complain about wasting an unGodly amount of money on a degree I don’t actively use, he tells me I needed that experience in order to grow as a person. (I agree – plus I find myself using my PR and Journalism degree here on the blog, which is very cool) My dad is the guy with a million crazy stories from his life, all of which have shaped him in some way or another. Life experiences make you who you are. That’s why you should take that random last minute trip or say yes to a weird blind date. It could shape you in ways you would never imagine.

Learn something just for fun. My dad got his real estate license when he was in his late 40’s (right as the bubble popped) and never used it. But that’s okay with him. He genuinely learns things because he wants to know everything. It’s where I get it, I’m sure, as my need to learn every aspect of something can sometimes be all consuming. He has an embarrassing amount of self help books and “XYZ for Dummies” on topics I never would have guessed interested him. And if he’s not reading, listening or watching something to learn, he’s actively doing (and hoping it works.) I’ve seen him break many a gadget trying to see how it works or fix it. He never gets angry, just sees it as a learning experience.

Know what you are worth. I mentioned this in my to-do list post,  but my dad puts a numerical value on how much an hour of his time is worth to him.  Then with tasks, be it work around his house or business, he sees if he can find someone to do it for less than his hourly rate with the same or better quality than he could do it. While it’s not always the most practical, it’s such an awesome baseline and a good reminder than your own time is valuable.

You don’t need to be everything to have everything. For the past 30+ years my dad has been a salesman at a pool and ski store. It’s where I grew up, where all of his best friends work, where people I call “aunt” and “uncle” are. While he’s an entrepreneur with his own businesses, (If you own a hot tub, check out his hot tub cover guard!!) his main job is selling hot tubs. And he loves it. If you ask him if he wishes he had a different career, he says no. He’ll tell you that what better life could he have than going to work every day to hang out and goof around with his friends while paying the bills? He doesn’t need to be a doctor or a lawyer to have everything he wants in life, and I think that’s an amazing lesson everyone can learn, regardless of where you are in your life. He showed me my whole life that you don’t have to waste your life working and working and working non-stop so that you can “enjoy” your life – because it will never be enough.

So, dad – Happy Farter’s Day – I mean, Father’s Day. (Did I mention my dad loves a good fart joke? He’s the king of the dad joke.) I guess you’re pretty cool after all. Sorry I was such a terror when I was a teenager and I’m sorry that I still go to your house and make a mess and eat all of your food (+a toddler). Thanks for always listening to me bitch about things, entertaining my kids, and hanging out with us when we’re bored and going stir crazy. Oh, and for always covering the dinner bill 😉 I take back all of the bad things I ever said about you. 🙂 I love you, dad!

So tell me – what life lessons did your father figure teach you? Did you go through some rough teenage years? Let me know in the comments!