About Ashleigh McKenna
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20 Things I Learned from Dad
girl about t.o.: fatherly advice canada
(Jun.17.11)
I was born on Father's Day. (And I like to think I made a pretty good present that year.)
The way it works though, of course my birthday doesn't always fall on a Sunday. So this year, Dad gets the day all to himself. I won't be in Halifax to take him out to brunch or debate what stay-at-home dads would be worth, but that doesn't mean he won't be on my mind (or have a little something to open).
I've already shared my mom's fashion advice (plus more sweet mom style lessons), so today it's all about the guy who made up Princess Elizabeth bedtime stories and sent Harry Potter to my university dorm since he thought I'd need a little distraction.
20 Things I Learned from Dad:
- How to steep a cup of tea (he taught me that early so I could make him his!)
- To colour code a calendar for exact organization
- That I wouldn’t regret learning to drive stick (even if I hated the process)
- How easy it is to lose yourself in a good book
- How important it is to never lose yourself though
- That you’re never too old to believe in magic (our Harry Potter tradition will continue – and close – this summer when we wait to be in the same city to watch the final movie)
- That money doesn’t grow on trees
- But sometimes you really do have to spend some to make some
- No one ever regretted being at the airport with too much time to spare
- To try and speak at least a little of the local language wherever you travel
- How to put backspin on a tennis ball (though that’s still a work in progress)
- You gotta have fun
- And you also have to give it your all
- That it’s really nice to send a bottle of wine to the kitchen after a truly exceptional meal (he started out as a chef; he knows how hard they work)
- That The Rolling Stones really were cooler than The Beatles
- How a spontaneous and thoughtful gift can light up someone’s day
- To invest in quality – and always keep your eye out for a good deal
- That if you’re going to dish it out, you have to be able to take it too
- The difference between a real hammer and a plastic toy one (unfortunately only after I hit him on the head with the former instead of the latter at age three)
- The people who love you will always be there for you. No matter what
And that's just the beginning. What about you - any lessons from dad to share?
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