when i was growing up i do not recall hearing the words “i love you” from my father. when your father never says them to you when you are a child, it gets tougher and tougher for him to say those words as he gets older. to tell the truth, i could not honestly remember when i had last said those words to him either. i decided to set my ego aside and make the first move. after some hesitation, in our next phone conversation i blurted out the words, “dad… i love you!”

　　there was a silence at the other end and he awkwardly replied, “well, same back at ya!”i chuckled and said, “dad, i know you love me, and when you are ready, i know you will say what you want to say.” fifteen minutes later my mother called and nervously asked, “paul, is everything okay?”a few weeks later, dad concluded our phone conversation with the words, “paul, i love you.” i was at work during this conversation and the tears were rolling down my cheeks as i finally “heard” the love. as we both sat there in tears we realized that this special moment had taken our father/son relationship to a new level.

　　a short while after this special moment, my father narrowly escaped death following heart surgery. many times since, i have pondered the thought, if i did not take the first step and dad did not survive the surgery, i would have never “heard” the love.