Lecturing and Listening

I used to hate my dad’s lectures. I hated how he would go on and on, I feared the heavy air whenever he sat down next to me and asked me if I had a few minutes. It invariably ended up with him telling me about what it means to be a man, how I’m not holding up my end, how I’m irresponsible, him yelling at me, and me shutting down into my little man-cave in my head.

I used to hate the way my dad nodded along, just said, “Yeah, uh-huh” to everything people said. As though he understood. He just does that because he wants to build rapport with people when they talk to him, to seem smart, to not be looked down upon. To save face, rather than to actually learn and understand. I despised that cowardly act to save face.

Then I realized he never nodded along when he lectured me. He actually listens to me.