R-E-S-P-E-C-T

By Michael

Both of my girls showed respect for my feelings recently, without fanfare and without making a big deal about it. And that makes it a big deal, of course.

Susan showed me respect by leaving the house. Yeah, that doesn’t sound quite like a good thing, but….. On Rosh Hashanah, I don’t turn on the computer, answer the phone, watch television or engage in all kinds of normal daily activities. I’m far from an observant Jew, but I do make adjustments for the holidays to increase my own awareness of the difference between a day and a holyday.

Susan was at our house that day and she had some work to do. She needed to use a computer. So she left the house to do her work elsewhere. It was inconvenient for her, but she did it. Not as big a deal as pulling me from a burning car, but it was a nice, solid gesture of respect.

Stephanie was out with Susan and Jill, looking for wedding dresses. Hard to believe that it’s less than a year before both my babies are married. DON’T BLINK. Toward the end of the day, she found a dress she wanted. She wanted me to see it. So she stood in the bridal salon, wearing the dress, for about 40 minutes while she waited for me to arrive. So I could see it. So she could show me what she liked and see if I liked it, too. Of course, I did.

The echoes of respect and concern don’t always come with a trumpet blast or heralds from on high. Nobody says, “Hey, pay attention dad, because I’m about to be nice to you in return for you being nice to me…or because I just feel sorry for your old, decrepit soul.” Well, Susan will say that every so often, because sometimes I’m just too dense to get the idea.

The echoes say a lot about what we share, what we give and what we get. It’s a shame when we get so busy or wrapped up in other stuff that we miss the signals.

Thanks, girls. Message received.

Michael Rosenbaum is 5 Minutes for Parenting’s first dadblogger. He is a business consultant, playwright and author of Your Name Here: Guide to Life.

Michael blogs on life issues at Your Name Here Guide to Life and manages the Adult Conversation discussion group on Linked-In.

3 Responses to R-E-S-P-E-C-T
  1. CrazyDog
    September 22, 2010 | 9:30 pm

    Respect is such an awesome thing – a lesson we learned from my Dad, a lesson I’m trying to teach my kids too.

    Kudos to you for recognizing it!

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    March 31, 2012 | 6:15 pm

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