Thanks, Dad.
This is it. My last day. After today, life as I know it changes forever.
I used to build fences for a living. It was hard work - digging holes, pouring concrete, setting posts, putting things together. It kept me in shape, but that was about it. Then one day my dad came to me and said he needed help in his department at work. He offered me a job working with him, and I took it. that was about eight years ago.
I'll never forget the experience of working with my dad. I gained so many things from that, and I'm grateful to have had the chance. My dad and I never had much in common when I was a kid, but I feel like now that's changed. Now we're friends. I've gained an appreciation for just how good a man my father is, and I've gotten to know him in ways I never could have guessed. It's been such a blessing in my life.
But working for him was different from what I expected. On my first day he told me something I'd guess most people don't hear from their bosses: he told me to get a new job as soon as I could. He told me how he'd worked in that business for decades, and it wasn't a place to be, especially not with a family. He wanted me there, but he also wanted me out. If you're a father, you'll probably understand that sentiment. It's that old dream of your kids having a better life than you did.
Well, I have a family. Moreover, I remember growing up and how much my dad hated his job. I remember how that impacted all of us. So I tried to take my dad's advice and not stop looking for something better. It was only a temporary stop. A step up on the way to something better.
Like I said, that step has taken roughly eight years to move beyond. It's been hard. I've been working nights. I've been making a killer commute - 2 hours by bus each way. I've been picking up side work and part time jobs and any little thing I could to add to a wage that, no matter which way you sliced it, just wasn't enough for a growing family, not by a long shot. I've been in school. I've had more kids. Home after midnight every night. Up before six many days. Barely surviving the time in between. Working weekends, too. Frequently sick. Endless job applications. Family events. Occasional interviews, nothing ever quite working out. Student loans. Mortgage. More school. More kids. Family crises. Injuries. Church responsibilities. More school. More applications. Travel. More kids. No more interviews. So tired, all the time. So hard just to keep hoping. I've been playing the craziest balancing game of my life, never really knowing how one foot was going to come down in relation to the other. I never would have made it without the anchor provided by my wife. I can't describe all the times we prayed, and cried, and planned, and talked about things, just trying to have faith that it wouldn't go on like this forever.
Then almost a year ago some things started happening. I had gone to Morgan to do a small side job. Not much money - barely enough to cover my expenses. It was for my best client, so I didn't complain. Unexpectedly, I made a friend there. A drama teacher. A few months later that friend got a new job at a school near my house. He was teaching a film class in addition to theatre, and he didn't know anything about the technological side. I do. He asked me to come help him out a few times. I said yes.
I got to the school and I fell in love with it. I'd always wanted to be a teacher in my younger years. This was a charter school; I didn't need a teaching license to get hired. My friend said he thought he could get me on. So I started doing more. I went beyond the five weeks I'd agreed to help with and started teaching there every week. I made promotional videos for the fundraiser gala. I helped the principal with his end-of-year evaluations. I subbed for a whole week straight - without taking time off from my other job. I did lighting and sound for the school musical. I did everything I could to impress people. I asked the principal for a job. A miracle happened. He said yes.
Now, for the first time in my life, I find myself in possession of a job directly related to my career goals. It's a job I want. I set my sights on it, and I got it. It's not just the first thing I could find. It's only another step on the path to where I want to ultimately be, but it's an intentional step. It actively improves my family's situation, rather than just prolonging it. No more deadly commute. No more weeks on end without seeing my children awake. Better money. Better hours. Summer vacation. The kind of work I care about and enjoy. It's a job I'm actually excited to be doing. It feels good.
This is the day that I've been looking forward to for the last eight years especially, but really for much longer than that. Right now, I have that exhilarating feeling of being on the edge of something, about to go over. When I leave work tonight, I'm leaving behind a whole lot more than just a set of keys. It's really hard to think of a single thing about my life that will not be dramatically impacted by the changes that happen starting tomorrow.
As I sit here on the final morning before my final bus ride to my final shift at the job I've had for the past eight years, I'm thinking of you, Dad. I'm thinking of all the sacrifices you made when I was growing up and how I understand that so much better now. The times you were tired, or frustrated, or angry, or unintentionally hurt our feelings, I forgive you for because now I get it. You really were doing your best, and you did well, in spite of everything.
You used to tell me how you'd been where I was, so you could relate. Now I can say the same to you. I've been there. Not for as long as you, and not in every way, but I've been there now, and now I understand why you wanted something more for me and for all of us. I want that too, and I'm grateful for your help. You told me on the first day I started working for you to get out of that job as soon as I could. You never would have forced me out, because you loved working with me. I loved working with you, though I didn't always show it. But you wanted me to do more: to take a different path.
That was harder than I ever imagined, but I just wanted you to know that with your help, I did it. I did it, Dad. Starting tomorrow, life gets better. And I just can't thank you enough.
I used to build fences for a living. It was hard work - digging holes, pouring concrete, setting posts, putting things together. It kept me in shape, but that was about it. Then one day my dad came to me and said he needed help in his department at work. He offered me a job working with him, and I took it. that was about eight years ago.
I'll never forget the experience of working with my dad. I gained so many things from that, and I'm grateful to have had the chance. My dad and I never had much in common when I was a kid, but I feel like now that's changed. Now we're friends. I've gained an appreciation for just how good a man my father is, and I've gotten to know him in ways I never could have guessed. It's been such a blessing in my life.
But working for him was different from what I expected. On my first day he told me something I'd guess most people don't hear from their bosses: he told me to get a new job as soon as I could. He told me how he'd worked in that business for decades, and it wasn't a place to be, especially not with a family. He wanted me there, but he also wanted me out. If you're a father, you'll probably understand that sentiment. It's that old dream of your kids having a better life than you did.
Well, I have a family. Moreover, I remember growing up and how much my dad hated his job. I remember how that impacted all of us. So I tried to take my dad's advice and not stop looking for something better. It was only a temporary stop. A step up on the way to something better.
Like I said, that step has taken roughly eight years to move beyond. It's been hard. I've been working nights. I've been making a killer commute - 2 hours by bus each way. I've been picking up side work and part time jobs and any little thing I could to add to a wage that, no matter which way you sliced it, just wasn't enough for a growing family, not by a long shot. I've been in school. I've had more kids. Home after midnight every night. Up before six many days. Barely surviving the time in between. Working weekends, too. Frequently sick. Endless job applications. Family events. Occasional interviews, nothing ever quite working out. Student loans. Mortgage. More school. More kids. Family crises. Injuries. Church responsibilities. More school. More applications. Travel. More kids. No more interviews. So tired, all the time. So hard just to keep hoping. I've been playing the craziest balancing game of my life, never really knowing how one foot was going to come down in relation to the other. I never would have made it without the anchor provided by my wife. I can't describe all the times we prayed, and cried, and planned, and talked about things, just trying to have faith that it wouldn't go on like this forever.
Then almost a year ago some things started happening. I had gone to Morgan to do a small side job. Not much money - barely enough to cover my expenses. It was for my best client, so I didn't complain. Unexpectedly, I made a friend there. A drama teacher. A few months later that friend got a new job at a school near my house. He was teaching a film class in addition to theatre, and he didn't know anything about the technological side. I do. He asked me to come help him out a few times. I said yes.
I got to the school and I fell in love with it. I'd always wanted to be a teacher in my younger years. This was a charter school; I didn't need a teaching license to get hired. My friend said he thought he could get me on. So I started doing more. I went beyond the five weeks I'd agreed to help with and started teaching there every week. I made promotional videos for the fundraiser gala. I helped the principal with his end-of-year evaluations. I subbed for a whole week straight - without taking time off from my other job. I did lighting and sound for the school musical. I did everything I could to impress people. I asked the principal for a job. A miracle happened. He said yes.
Now, for the first time in my life, I find myself in possession of a job directly related to my career goals. It's a job I want. I set my sights on it, and I got it. It's not just the first thing I could find. It's only another step on the path to where I want to ultimately be, but it's an intentional step. It actively improves my family's situation, rather than just prolonging it. No more deadly commute. No more weeks on end without seeing my children awake. Better money. Better hours. Summer vacation. The kind of work I care about and enjoy. It's a job I'm actually excited to be doing. It feels good.
This is the day that I've been looking forward to for the last eight years especially, but really for much longer than that. Right now, I have that exhilarating feeling of being on the edge of something, about to go over. When I leave work tonight, I'm leaving behind a whole lot more than just a set of keys. It's really hard to think of a single thing about my life that will not be dramatically impacted by the changes that happen starting tomorrow.
As I sit here on the final morning before my final bus ride to my final shift at the job I've had for the past eight years, I'm thinking of you, Dad. I'm thinking of all the sacrifices you made when I was growing up and how I understand that so much better now. The times you were tired, or frustrated, or angry, or unintentionally hurt our feelings, I forgive you for because now I get it. You really were doing your best, and you did well, in spite of everything.
You used to tell me how you'd been where I was, so you could relate. Now I can say the same to you. I've been there. Not for as long as you, and not in every way, but I've been there now, and now I understand why you wanted something more for me and for all of us. I want that too, and I'm grateful for your help. You told me on the first day I started working for you to get out of that job as soon as I could. You never would have forced me out, because you loved working with me. I loved working with you, though I didn't always show it. But you wanted me to do more: to take a different path.
That was harder than I ever imagined, but I just wanted you to know that with your help, I did it. I did it, Dad. Starting tomorrow, life gets better. And I just can't thank you enough.
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