Lessons with Dad

My Dad's in town to visit his grandbaby and try to slip him Diet Coke when I'm not looking. He also tried to give him honey, and much drama ensued. My son will, no doubt, have his first sugary treat with my Dad and I will be powerless to stop it.

But, that's not why I'm writing.

A funny thing happened last night. I put a box of Dad's favorite gourmet cookies in the guest room for him. I had not opened them, or let my husband know we had them. Is there anything better than a brand-new box of cookies?

My Dad's first response?

"Here, Sara Sue, have a cookie!"

Why? Because it has become his automatic response, after 30 years of being a Dad, to give to his kids first, and then himself. Me, I'm just now starting to learn that. Dad has had lots of practice after:

-Abandoning his hippie ways to provide for his family

-taking two girls on countless vacations when it would have been easier to leave our cranky hineys with Memaw (my sis and I would fight a lot on roadtrips. What else was there to do?)

-helping us with homework and inventing fun games to play together even though he probably wanted to veg on the couch after a long day at work

-sending those same two girls to college and paying for it all, even when a certain daughter went to an expensive private school

So, as I sat and noshed on my Dad's cookies, I thought it would be great if all parents were that selfless........including myself!