I still model myself after my father in that respect. He was a person with a big heart.
When my father took one of his four children to the supermarket, we always got a treat. I was 11 when he and I stepped out of the car on a windy day in Sacramento. He leaned against the car, holding his wallet, trying to peel out some money when a twenty-dollar bill suddenly flew out and took off like a bat out of hell. I ran after it as far as I could, but the wind won.
When I turned back, my dad waved me over. As I reached him, I saw him handing a homeless person lying on the ground a five-dollar bill. What blew my mind in that moment was how, after losing twenty dollars to the wind, my father still had the compassion to help someone else. I couldn’t stop staring at him as we walked through the market, adding things to our cart.
At the checkout counter, he told me to hurry and pick out a treat. He looked at me and smiled and ruffled my hair with his compassionate hand and said “okay.” That was and is one of the most valuable lessons I have learned in life. I still model myself after my father in that respect. He was a person with a big heart. Even though most of our relationship was conflicted, I am so thankful to him for showing me how to be that kindhearted person that he was.
