a thank you, thirty years later.

I called my dad today.

It was a little out of the blue to him.

Those sort of calls always worry a parent, it appears, regardless of one’s age.

But it was not a random call.

I said, “Dad. I just wanted to say thank you.”

“For what?” he asked. “What did I do?”

“Well, you did this about thirty years ago. So – you might have forgotten.”

We both laughed. 

(Also – what? THIRTY years ago? That’s a thing??)

What I was calling my dad to say thanks for though, was this.

The high price he paid to insure my sixteen year old self on his car insurance policy for many years.

Because, before I called my father, I visited my own insurance agent and dropped off the official paperwork to add my sixteen year old driving daughter to my insurance policy.

And, let me tell you what you all already know – it ain’t cheap to insure a young driver.

So I thanked my dad – sincerely – for footing the bill for so many years. He might’ve complained about it – but I have no recollection of that. And I had three brothers – so that was not a low cost endeavor on his part.

Parenting is emotionally hard. We all know that.

But it’s also real pricey too.  

So thank you Dad for paying bills for me when I didn’t know to be grateful.

And thank you God for opportunities to offer a thank you thirty years later.

It was a funny phone call, but I wasn’t kidding about my appreciation.

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