{"id":1687,"date":"2010-02-16T10:02:11","date_gmt":"2010-02-16T18:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=1687"},"modified":"2013-08-21T11:39:25","modified_gmt":"2013-08-21T19:39:25","slug":"the-american-dream-according-to-my-father","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/the-american-dream-according-to-my-father\/","title":{"rendered":"The American Dream According to My Father"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

<\/a><\/p>\n

Image courtesy of Andy Warhol
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

My father is my hero.\u00a0 The greatest man I know.\u00a0 Honestly.\u00a0 As I have matured through the years, I realize this more every day.\u00a0 And I am more and more grateful for him every day.<\/p>\n

He is a quiet and reserved man\u2026 a hard worker, and very successful in most facets of his life.\u00a0 He spent his entire 45 year career at one company, starting out as an intern making 75 cents an hour to spending the last several years as CEO.\u00a0 Surely he has weathered several economic recessions, witnessing and even overseeing his fair share of lay-offs, salary cuts and disgruntled employees.\u00a0 He was fiercely dedicated to his work, and sacrificed a lot of time with his family to fulfill his responsibilities and accomplish his career goals.\u00a0 He traveled often and spent endless hours at the office.\u00a0 He was never a 9-5, 40 hours a week, employee.\u00a0 More like 60-70 hours.<\/p>\n

He raised four kids with my mom to whom he is still married, and surely bares a few grey hairs as souvenirs of our ongoing antics.\u00a0 He has had his fair share of personal challenges as a father and a husband.\u00a0 And although I am not a mind reader, as most people do, I assume he probably has a few regrets along the way.\u00a0 Yet, everything he has ever done, he has done with his family\u2019s best interest in mind.\u00a0 He spoiled us\u2026 but not rotten.\u00a0 He sent us all to college and grad school, and gave us every opportunity to better ourselves through education, travel, community service and family responsibility.\u00a0 During the summers, he sent each one of us to work once we turned 16 because he felt it was important for us to learn the value of a dollar.\u00a0 We learned a lot more than that from him.\"\"<\/p>\n

In fact, more than my BA in Literature or the 18 months I spent in grad school, it\u2019s what my father has taught to me through his own experiences that makes me a better person.<\/p>\n

As a kid, I didn\u2019t recognize any of this.\u00a0 I just thought\u2026 \u201cHe\u2019s never around.\u00a0 He must love his job more than me.\u201d\u00a0 I was horrified to be working all summer at his office while my friends hung out at the beach.\u00a0 And while he went on and on with his \u2018life lessons\u2019, I just thought he was trying to ruin mine.\u00a0 I was never \u2018daddy\u2019s little girl\u2019 because I didn\u2019t think he had time for me.\u00a0 Until very recently, I never realized he was preparing my two sisters and me to be women, not girls, and my brother to be a man.<\/p>\n

Now, I am not saying my dad is perfect.\u00a0 In fact, he\u2019d be the first to tell you that he is far from it. \u00a0He has made his mistakes, facing his own personal and professional challenges.\u00a0 And he has failed.\u00a0 He is human.\u00a0 But in light of my own personal and professional difficulties these days, I find myself reflecting on some of those life lessons of his that I used to ignore.\u00a0 And they actually help me get through the really rough times.\u00a0 I\u2019m not claiming that any of my father\u2019s \u2018lessons\u2019 or anecdotes are wholly original\u2026 and maybe you have heard them before from your own father or another influential figure in your life.\u00a0 If not, I\u2019ve decided to share them with you, in case, as you read this, you are having one of the really rough days.<\/p>\n