Life lessons with Freez, my daddy

It’s rare that I post on a Sunday. Today, however, is a very special day. Fathers don’t always get the fanfare that mothers get when their special day comes around. While there is no special contest associated with this post, I wanted to honor my awesome father with his own post. Trust me, if I didn’t, I would be wrong.
Most of the life lessons my daddy taught me revolve around sports. Growing up, that was our thing. We would spend hours and hours at a time in our backyard shooting hoops or playing catch. The simple drills progressed over the years into running plays and discussing game scenarios. “What are you gonna do, Ashley?,” he would ask. The more he did this, the more I would understand. I could actually hear his voice in my head during games when I would find myself in any of the situations we had practiced. Life is still like that. I can still hear many things he has taught me when I get in a jam. Listed below are a few lessons my daddy has taught me that not only apply to sports, but to life.

1. You’re never as good as you think you are, but you’re never as bad as you think you are either.

This one is probably my favorite. I can’t tell you how many times I heard this one. I played one of the best games of softball I had ever played. I was so excited and pumped to hear what my daddy had to say after the game. How many praises for that performance would I get!? He starts, “That was a good game you played there, girl. You do know you could have caught that ball that came at you in the 4th inning, right? It shouldn’t have hit the ground.” I guess he could see it on my face. “You’re never as good as you think you are, but you’re never as bad as you think you are either. There is always something to work on.” Then he went on and on bragging to everyone about some catch I made or how I stole a base. This applies to everything we try to do in life. There is always something to work on.

2. Keep you eye on the ball and your head down. 

“Ashley, what are you looking at? The ball hasn’t even made it there and you’re looking to see how far you hit it. You can’t hit what you can’t see.” Sometimes we get so caught up in the results. What’s going to happen? Where did it go? The results depend on the action. Poor action=poor results. Your eyes and head have to stay with and on the “prize.” If not, you’re just going to be swinging blindly through life, hoping for a hit, but never really connecting to anything.

3. The cream always rises to the top. 

Have you ever seen fresh milk? I’m not talking about the kind from the grocery store, I mean straight from the cow! For all my nurse friends, breast milk does the same thing, so in this situation, straight from the human. If you let it sit for a while, the fatty portion of the milk (the cream,) will separate and float to the top of the container. This is the best part of the milk. The crown jewel. The “creme de la creme.” Literally. The best will always rise to the top. The stars will always shine. No matter what obstacles are in the way, no matter what role you are asked to play. If you are the cream, you will rise.

Thank you daddy for everything you have taught me and done for me. I love you more than words could ever express. You are the literal whipped cream on my ice cream sundae. And this girl loves her some whipped cream! What are some life lessons your father has taught you? As always, we would love to hear from you! Comment here or email me at ag@nursingforall.com

Happy Fathers’ Day,

A.G.