DO IT NOW!
In a class I teach for adults, I gave the assignment to "go
to someone you love, and tell them that you love them."
At the beginning of the next class, one of the students
began by saying, "I was angry with you last week when you gave us
this assignment. I didn't feel I had anyone to say those words
to. But as I began driving home my conscience started talking.
Then I knew exactly who I needed to say `I love you' to. Five
years ago, my father and I had a vicious disagreement and never
really resolved it. We avoided seeing each other unless we
absolutely had to at family gatherings. We hardly spoke. So by
the time I got home, I had convinced myself I was going to tell
my father I loved him.
"Just making that decision seemed to lift a heavy load off
my chest.
"At 5:30, I was at my parents' house ringing the doorbell,
praying that Dad would answer the door. I was afraid if Mom
answered, I would chicken out and tell her instead. But as luck
would have it, Dad did answer the door.
"I didn't waste any time - I took one step in the door and
said, `Dad, I just came over to tell you that I love you.'
"It was as if a transformation came over my dad. Before my
eyes his face softened, the wrinkles seemed to disappear and he
began to cry. He reached out and hugged me and said, `I love you
too, son, but I've never been able to say it.'
"But that's not even my point. Two days after that visit, my
dad had a heart attack and is in the hospital. I don't even know
if he'll make it.
"So my message to all of you is this: Don't wait to do the
things you know need to be done. What if I had waited to tell my
dad? Take the time to do what you need to do and do it now!"
By Dennis E. Mannering
from Condensed Chicken Soup for the Soul
Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor
Hansen & Patty
Hansen