The Last Lesson My Father Taught Me

To my dad, David P. Wagner, may he rest in peace. January 3, 1956 - February 6, 2012.

When I respond that I majored in history at university, most often people ask "So, do you want to teach?" After I say my two cents, most people will ask "Why did you major in history?" My response is usually "History teaches you to learn from your mistakes so you don't make them in the future." This is not only true of global events, like the Holocaust, but even in our own personal histories.

The day my father died, my sister and I had a fight and I stormed out of the house without saying goodbye to anyone and drove back to school. About six hours later at 9:30pm, my sister called me and said our father died. On the way back home from school, about a 90 minute hike, I kept thinking to myself that I did not say goodbye to my father while he was still here.

As I went through the next week, even after myriads of people tried to console me, I blamed myself for not saying goodbye to my dad, even though he knew I loved him and I knew he loved me. Then it came to me; my dad taught me a lesson, his last one, one I will never forget: Never forget your past experiences because they can teach you something in the future.

Never was this more true than about a week after my dad died. I was over at my grandparents' house discussing bills and such. My grandfather said something that deeply offended me. I flew off the handle and, as i was getting ready to walk out the door, it hit me: My father's lesson! I immediately apologized to my grandfather and said I loved him and that I appreciate all he is doing for my mother, sister, and I during this difficult time. It seems that dad's lesson was guiding me.

The moral of this blogpost is that history has an uncanny ability to remind you of your past mistakes to make sure you try never to repeat them again. That day I ran out of my house and did not say goodbye to my father is something that I will never forget. For this, I am eternally grateful because my dad taught me a lesson.