My Life's "Aha Moment"

                                    

While browsing through other blogs I found one that caught my attention. It said there is a bus that is traveling around the country, recording people talking about their life's Aha moment. Their definition of an "aha moment" is "a moment of clarity... where you gain real wisdom - wisdom you can use to change your life."

It made me wonder....have I had an "Aha moment"? It did not take me long to remember one that change me.  

I would have been in my thirties when Dad decided to move to Chicago (Addison) and work with his Uncle Frank. Mom was going to stay here in Decatur and Dad would come home on weekends. It seemed like a good plan to both of them.
Dad got things all lined up to go. I think it was even before he left that things began to change. He had always been a gruff man. But the closer it got to the time of his leaving the more sentimental he became. He was finding it hard to leave his home and his wife.
I remember being out in the garage with Dad, he hugged me and said "I love you".  We did not say that much in my family....maybe not at all...until that moment.  My Dad's arms were still around me when his tears started to flow....MY DAD.... was crying on my shoulder. He said "I want to tell your Mom I Love her but I have a hard time. I want her to know that I love her." 
Now usually I am the one crying, especially if I tried to tell anyone how I felt about my dad. But in this moment I did not cry. I was the strong one....for my dad.

It is in that moment that I grew up, I changed, and I knew I could be strong.

As I write this I see that not only was this my "Aha Moment" but that my dad had a BIG "Aha Moment". The move made him realize how much home and his wife meant to him. It did change him forever. He was a much better husband to her after that.

Dad was eventually able to tell Mom...kind of...my strong gruff Dad told her "I want to tell you ..." and then broke down crying. And Mom patted him and said, "I know, Marv, and I love you too."
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                                            And Yes,
                                                                 After that
                                    Marv did say to Evelyn
                                             "I love you"
                                       For the next 24 years.