There was once a man in my life who I thought didn’t care because he didn’t do the little things like give me a hug regularly or tell me how much he loved me just because he knew that was what I wanted to hear. Instead, he would cloth me, provide food, accommodation and made sure I got a good education, the one his money could afford.

There was a man who was tough on me but soft and tender to my sister because he believed the world was not compassionate enough to an average man especially one that has nothing to give or offer. He taught me to always have something to offer rather than just expect love and compassion for no good reason. It was his own way of telling me “I love you” and it is called tough love.

Talking was never his forte so he had his old collections of country music to do that for him. He was a man who couldn’t find the right words to express his emotions at times so he would communicate using his country music collections. He would play “It must be love” by Don Williams and “Buy me a rose” by Kenny Rogers as his way of telling my mother “I love you”. And Instead of telling me “I love you”, he would borrow the words of George Strait. He would say “let me tell you a secret about a father’s love… Daddies don’t just love their children every now and then. It’s a love without end, amen”. Although he is no more, I still feel his presence in these words.

https://beheardd.com/2021/06/20/fathers-love/