12 Invaluable Things Our Father's Taught Us

Fathers day is coming everyone, I do hope you have your cards ready and waiting for all the Papa's out there. Despite people saying how commercial Fathers day has become, the basic idea behind it, is of the upmost importance. It's a day to appreciate one of the most important men in your life, to show him that after his many years of work, you being the end result, have turned out ok. Not everyone is lucky enough to have their father in their lives, so in homage to great Fathers everywhere, here are the top things that our Dads have taught us so far;

1) Manners Matter.

Having good manners in life is one of the most important things you will ever learn and this is usually instilled in you by your Father. Table manners especially. Too many people nowadays are complete unaware of the need to be polite at the kitchen table. Thanks for the consideration but I don't think we, at the opposite end of the restaurant, need to see the contents of your mouth. We didn't appreciate the many lectures we got at the dinner table as a child, but hell, we do now.

2) R.E.S.P.E.C.T

If you don't respect your own Father, then it's generally going to be his fault. Either because he has not been a good father/ human being, or because he did not instill the value of respect in you. Respecting others needs to be taught from a young age. Children are not born hating or disrespecting others, this is picked up over time. Respect Papa.

3) Work Hard Or Don't Work At All.

There is no work ethic like the work ethic of a Father. When someone has a house to pay for and a family to feed, then he will work every God given hour to do so. Mine works from dawn until dusk and he taught me that to get anything in life, you have to work your arse off in order to get there. I also learned pretty fast that complaining to him about any school or college related work was pointless as it was not real work in his eyes. If there isn't a stone wall built at the end of it, then say nothing.

4) How To Drive.

If there are any young, eager to learn drivers out there reading this, then be warned. Asking your Dad to teach you how to drive, will, one hundred percent of the time, result in you losing all respect in the art of patience. Fathers tend to not have too much patience when it comes to teaching someone how to drive, expect to hear the words, "fucking break, accelerate, clutch, second gear, SECONNNNND."  I got one lesson off my Dad and then we didn't speak for the rest of the day. Learning curve.

5) Budgeting Is Everything.

It's only when you've rang your Dad for the third time in a month, to request some more money for 'books', that you begin to wish you'd listened to him when he stated the importance of budgeting your money. Wise words Papa.

6) Presentation Is Everything.

I am not ashamed to admit that I have inherited a deep hatred of grown men wearing tracksuit bottoms, outside the realm of sports, from my Father. He usually grunts the word "slob" whenever he sees a middle aged man in a Jersey and because his hearing is on a slippery downward slope, he is nowhere near as subtle as he thinks he is. Awkwardness all around.

7) Nuggets Of Knowledge.

In my house we have a little thing known as 'The dinnertime quiz'. So you're sitting there, happily wolfing down the dinner that has been lovingly prepared by hands that are not your own, when BAM, here come the quiz questions. My Dad's favorite thing in life is a good quiz and he's not alone, it seems. Dads just love a good get together over a quiz, all of that stored away knowledge and testosterone and competitiveness rising the stakes.

8) The Importance Of Reading.

One will receive a number of presents over their young lives. Christmas, Birthdays, you're going to have another sibling, please don't kill it, so here's a Barbie. The chances that your Father picked out any of these is usually fairly unlikely, so when he did pick you out something, it sticks in your memory. Mine bought me books. He once bought me an encyclopedia when all I wanted was the new Polly Pocket, soul crushing at the time, but looking back, I'm so grateful because I still, to this day, love nothing more than a good book. Polly, sadly, has long since fallen by the wayside.

9) Selective Hearing Is An Essential Part Of Life.

Many's a Father has developed this tool over the course of their married lives and thus, this extends even further when they have children. So we'd like to thank our Dads for teaching us to block out our Mothers excessive nagging, not to mention our siblings daily arguments. It has really been an invaluable and life worthy skill, a skill that we will no doubt carry on into our adult lives.

10) One Must Remain Faithful To Ones Football Team For Life.

Never question a Father's commitment or taste in regards to a Football team. Never. Unless you want to be severely ridiculed and then shunned from his house forever. That's all I can really say on this matter.

11) School Is Much Better Now Then It Was In His Day.

If the numerous stories I've heard are anything to go by, school 'back in the day' was a horrendous bag of crap. "We have it so easy." Apparently. Now I don't know about that, but it does make me oh so glad, that I was educated in 1995 and not 1965. At least we didn't get a whallop if we misbehaved.

12) Dinner Time Is The Most Important Time Of The Day.

Regular eating patterns stem from the Father of the house being constantly hungry. My Dad basically cries when he needs to be fed. Any long family drives were punctuated by feeding breaks and regular snacking. As children, we quickly copped on to the fact that going to town with Daddy dearest, almost always resulted in a food stop. God bless you Fathers and your ridiculous appetites.

Happy Father's Day to Papa's everywhere.