Top 10 Things My Dad Always Said

I spent the weekend with my family camping in the desert, and we had the best time not really doing much but relaxing. We went for walks, carved pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns, and stared into the star filled sky. My five year old was so excited, as this was the first year he got to carve his own pumpkin (with the assistance of my wife) and he did a great job. Watching him with pride, I thought of all the things my parents taught me through the years, and all the classic “My Dad always said”
quotes that helped to shape my parenting skills. The following is the Top 10 List of things my Dad always said, with brief explainations.

1. When you buy the best, you only cry once. Although my father was very thrifty, and always looked for a bargain, on high priced items, it pays to spend a little more and get the best product available.

2. There are only 2 kinds of people who drive in the fast lane - the kind that write tickets, and the kind that get the tickets. I usually got this lecture right before going to court or after telling my dad that I finished my day at traffic school to keep it off my record.

3. You kids today, have champagne taste on a beer pocketbook. I understand the premise, we want the things we can’t really afford. But I never liked champagne, and I never used a pocketbook. Still, I think I heard this quote at least a hundred times before I moved out to realize he was right. I still don’t like champagne though.

4. As long as you are living under my roof, you will follow my rules. Not knowing how effective this rule was as a teen, as an adult I have a greater appreciation for it. I never argued or questioned my father, or his rules. I knew there were consequences for my actions, and I acted accordingly. If I thought my way was better, I could always move out and make my own rules. When I moved out I was ready to do so. This one rule prepared me for life, and for that I am grateful.

5. If you don’t quit crying, I’ll give you something to cry about. This one just doesn’t make any sense to me, because if I was crying, I already had something to cry about. Spanking doesn’t make me want to cry less, I think that would just add to the issue. Still, I think the whole idea of just threatening a spanking was enough to make most children try hard to stop crying. I can’t say that this is one of the things I will use with my own child.

6. If you want something bad enough, you will save for it. My dad wasn’t one to use credit cards. He actually was proud of the fact that he never wrote a bad check, and never paid a finance charge. This is almost unheard of in today’s troubled economy. It did teach me the value of a dollar, and the difference between wants and needs. I also think it taught me to take care of my things, and it is better to want the things I have than to have the things I want.

7. A man is only as good as his word. My dad grew up doing business with a hand shake instead of a written contract. When you told someone you would do something, you did it. No excuses, no backing out, and nothing done half-assed. I believe this to be true, and I have tried to follow in my father’s footsteps in regards to the way I lead my life. I want people to trust me, believe in me, and respect me. More importantly, I have to believe in myself first. Being trustworthy is a great trait.

8. Any job worth doing is a job worth doing well. Take pride in your work, your work ethic, and finish the job you started. I think this one may have had a negative effect on me in the long term. I tend to think that I must keep working on a project longer than I should because I could do better. I am never satisfied with the end result because I run out of time before a deadline. This does encourage me to strive to achieve my goals, and make my work more valuable. Thanks for the push, Dad.

9. Measure twice, cut once. This is more of a construction rule, but the idea is that sometimes we are in a rush to do a job, and we make mistakes. Make your measurement, check it, and then proceed to make the cut. Be efficient, and you get more done. I have found myself using this quote in a number of different situations, from teaching employees to check their work before turning it in, to home projects that I want to finish with fewer trips to Home Depot due to my miscalculations.

10. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. The only dumb question is the one that was never asked. I learned this one the hard way. Thinking I would be helping my dad by mowing,edging, and fertilizing the yard one summer, I did all of this while he was out shopping on Saturday morning when I was 15 years old. The mowing and edging was easy, I did it each week. I have seen my dad use the fertilizer spreader many times, but I didn’t know it had different levels on it. I just loaded it up with a whole bag of fertilizer, and off I went. Needless to say, I put about 10 times the amount of fertilizer on the lawn, which would cause the lawn to burn. My dad got home and was furious with me. I got the lecture of a life time on not knowing what I was doing, using the instructions for things I knew nothing about, etc. Then I got the follow up attempt at a mild thank you for my efforts, but you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help. All I could muster from behind my curtain of tears was “I know now.”  Lesson learned.

My dad was an elementary school teacher his whole life. He taught his four children well, and prepared us to face the world head on. He had a far more difficult upbringing than what we faced, and I think he wanted us to struggle a little so we would appreciate what we have a little more. He was hard on us, but that made us stronger. We always knew that he loved us and supported us 100%. This I will definitely pass on to my son. I hope you can find the humor and life lessions in this list. Feel free to share them with your family and friends, that would make my dad happy.