Dad taught me a lot of things. Some he succeeded, some he didn't.
(1)
One of the earliest things I remember he taught me personally was how to read the time. When i was in pre-school, I was able to tell the time by looking at the digital clock. Dad taught me how to tell the time from an analogue clock dial. I was in the first grade by then. He taught me the longest hand was for 'seconds' , the second longest one 'minutes' and the shortest one 'hours'. Then he made me practice telling the time by setting the clock in various positions -- at a quarter, a half, three-quarter first. Then in 10s, 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. When he was sure that I had learnt well, he brought me to a store to buy me my first analogue wrist watch -- it was only 500 Ks.
He still continued buying me watches until today, too.
Two of those were bought by him.
(2)
Another small little thing he taught me was how to differentiate a palm tree from a coconut tree. I know it sounds very easy now but when I was a little more than 4-year-old I wasn't able to do it at all. We used to go jogging in the mornings around Kandawgyi Lake (yea both of us, by then, were more health-conscious and athletic than we are today). Around the lake, there were so many coconut trees and a couple of palm trees and I wasn't able to tell which was which so I asked dad. Although I no longer remember the exact words he used, I clearly remember that he pointed at each one and compared the leaves, the trunk and the height after which I was no longer in confusion.
(3)
When a little bit older, another question I asked him was how to differentiate Nissan Sunny pick-up from Toyota Publica pick-up as they looked just the same to me. Dad then again pointed at each one, whenever passed by, and said the differences in rare view mirrors, the back lights, the shape of the car body and most importantly, the logo. No matter how trivial or stupid my question might sound, he took each one serious and answered patiently which then made me clear afterwards.
Pulica Picture Source
Sunny Picture Source(4)
Even without a request or a question, he also taught me things that become important in my life at certain point of time.
When I was not more than 5 year old, dad was working as a Manager at Pyin-Ma-Bin condensed milk production factory which was located 18-miles away from the city Yangon. He often brought me there. There was no direct buses as yet that time. It took nearly 90 minutes and 2 transfers by bus to get to there. Apart from Mom's Hilux parked in front of our house, Dad also did have a government car given to him. He often visited the factory even on the non-working days and weekends. Some days he drove, some he took bus. There was one day he asked me if I wanted to join him for a short visit to the factory. If I'm not mistaken, it was a Sunday. He was planning to drive there until I gave him a conditional answer which made him change his mind.
I said,
"I will come with you only if you are driving," which clearly stated that I did not wish to take bus.
Then he said,
" Darling, I was planning to drive at first. But, since you said this, it's time for me to teach you how to be happy taking buses"
I cringed and had no choice but to follow him
only by bus.
On the way, he said
"Look around, Darling. There are more people in this city who take buses than who drive. I want you to blend in, be in the majority. Even when you are able to drive your own car, you should not be hesitating for taking public transport" Following weekends, he would also bring me to the city-center by bus and bought me something I wanted -- mostly books -- just to make me happy taking bus with him. Since then, I did not hesitate to take buses even though Dad would occasionally drive me to anywhere I would go.
(5)
I was nearly in my teenage when he taught this one. I know, I should have learnt this one from Mom rather than from Dad -- how to cut the onion properly, evenly, and safely.
Dad was making omelette and he asked me to help. When he saw me cutting onions, he showed me the right way.
If you notice the way I hold the knife, might not have learnt it so well or might as well have forgotten it
(6)
There are also a lot of things he taught me, yet I still fail to fully utilize.
Observation, Reasoning and JudgementFor every decision you are making in life, he said "First observe as much information as possible, reason it then only make judgement."
I failed. Several times. Only because I am the type of person who love jumping into the conclusions, who makes hasty judgements and decisions.
Room for improvement!
360-degree Angles Whenever there are disagreements (be it between mom or anyone and me), he would always remind me "
There are always three hundred and sixty degrees to look at. For each degree change, the view may not be the same anymore. You need to try looking from other people's point of view"
Which I still fail at so many times, because I really can't bring myself to put in anyone else's shoes.
(7)
I still need to learn a lot from him.
Comments (2)
My dad was also the one who taught me how to tell the time, but he bought me the watch first when I was in KG. At that time ... and till a little later, I only knew how to tell when the hands are at the exact numbers.
I like this post. It reminds me of the things my Dad taught me too such as, how to use fork and knife, how to chew without making sounds, mostly table manners. He also taught me many prayers or should I say buddhist "ga-hta"? He's quite a religious man and he wants us to be one, too. But I don't think he succeeded much. When we were younger, he made us sit near him and repeat what he said. But as we grow older, he can only remind us to do it on our own. The only thing is that my laziness is going to drag me to hell.
@kyalzinlay - Right kyal. I forgot to mention about him teaching me how to ride a bike and prayers too. He also taught me how to drive a car, but didn't succeed much. I mean, I can drive very well now. But when he taught me, i was all nervous.
Well maybe i should come up with another post some time later =D
It's been quite long.