30 Days of Joy: I am My Parents’ Son

Note: This article is the next step in my challenge to find joy in something — anything — every day for 30 days. Today’s entry is part 7.

It started with the letter “p.”

The other day I wrote about how I’ve been turning into my mother, because on most nights, I can’t make it through whatever my wife and I are watching without passing out on the couch.

(Last night was especially impressive, when I dozed off around 8:15 p.m.)

This morning, I realized I’m also turning into my father.

Writing in my Five Minute Journal, I answered the question, “What can I do to make today amazing?” with the following:

Stay in the present.

As I stared at those words, hoping I’d remember them throughout the day whenever my mind inevitably strayed, I couldn’t help noticing the “p” in “present.”

It looked as if my dad had written it.

This my sound ridiculous, but I’ve always felt comfort in my parents’ handwriting. It’s almost like the visual version of their voice or embrace.

So to see it in black and white, and to know that I’d recreated it, was kind of cool.

While their DNA is a given, there’s no telling what else we might inherit from our mother and father.

Because I admire mine so much, I hope I’ve inherited quite a bit.

I hope I’ve gotten my dad’s integrity, intellect and sense of humor, and my mom’s compassion, wisdom and spirit.

Thus far, I’ve been hit-or-miss with that wish list.

But it’s seemingly insignificant occurrences like today’s that give me hope.

I am the product of my parents. And as I write my own story, it’s nice to be reminded of that.

One letter at a time.

*****

This originally appeared on 100 Naked Words.