What Would Dad Do?

Yes, I know this sounds sac-religious, but don’t worry - I’m not about to start marketing bracelets that have “WWDD?” on them or anything. It’s just a question that my brother and sister-in-law have been encouraging me to ask myself recently, and it’s one that serves as a firm reminder of all the things that my father taught me during the 21 amazing years that we were on this earth together. My father was a good person, and for him, there wasn’t such a fine line between right and wrong. Sure, he made plenty of mistakes during his lifetime, but at the same time, he bestowed in my siblings and I great lessons and values that would prove to guide our decisions when we so often approached certain crossroads. So for me, considering what he would do in certain situations serves as a more tangible guide when faced with tough questions upon which I am to react. Allow me to further explain….

When I was growing up during those painful pubescent years that were drenched with poignant female hormones, my mother used to always tell me that I was always too emotional about everything. My reply to this was usually firm denial delivered via high pitched screams through big fat tears. A decade later, I’m realizing that she was probably right.

Now, I’m not one to indulge in astrology other than to read it for fun in magazines from time to time, but I do know that pisces are identified as those who “react emotionally to everything making them compassionate and sensitive to those around them.” This description describes me to a tee! This is not to say that I’m some kind of drama queen because I certainly try to avoid drama at all costs. It’s just that sometimes, my reaction to certain situations is the result of extreme emotions that don’t really augment any sort of constructive conflict resolution or, at times, creates drama in and of itself. Therefore, I tend to create more grief for myself which ultimately results in a never-ending cascade of emotions that usually don’t get resolved without some sort of sought out intervention. It’s a horrible cycle that can only be fixed by one thing: objectivity.

It is during these times of self-discovery as I continue to grow and mature that I really wish I had my Daddy around to help me sort through my emotions and figure out how to channel them into positive energy; however, the continuous advice I’ve received from Dean and Mischa have allowed me really embrace the person my father was and remember his words and lessons, even in his near four-year absence. So, in those moments when I’m about to dive off the deep end, I’m just going to take a second between the pre-dive bounce and the final plunge to think to myself “What would Dad do?” and by stimulating my brain with this question, I hope to be able to find objectivity in the face of the greatest adversities that life brings. What a beautiful revelation...

EUREEKA!