There are times I can be a denying fool. Just the other day I was having lunch with a friend and she said "You need to go take a nap." I was nodding off at the table. Somehow I think napping during the day is a sign of weakness, so I said – Oh no, I don't need a nap.... when the contrary fact remained obvious to my friend.
I can think of many tender moments with my father when we were all gathered together in the family circle. But here I would like to think of a time when we were one on one and he showed tenderness. We were sitting in the living room and he looked down at me (for I was sitting on the floor beside his chair) and he said "Don't you ever get lonely?" I was in my early 20s at the time and was unspeakably lonely. But my immediate and reflexive response to my father was "No, never am. I keep busy!" He let the subject go, but I often wonder what he thought of his son telling this obvious lie.
Print Page
