For some reason or another, I can’t seem to get this out of my head. Maybe because Tony Dungy is such a well-respected man both in and out of the NFL. Maybe it’s because I remember how confusing it was for me between the ages of 16-19 to find my own identity. Maybe it’s because there were times when I, too, felt it was too much to bear…
Whatever it is, Mr. Dungy left quite a few words of wisdom for both parents and their kids when he spoke at his son’s funeral today.
Note: All Quotes taken from the ESPN article
“Parents hug your kids every chance you get,” he said. “Tell them you love them every chance you get because you don’t know when it’s going to be the last time.”
“My daughter Tiara said it best the other day. She said: ‘I just wish he could have made it until he was 20. Because when you’re 17 or 18, sometimes the things you guys say to us don’t always make sense. … When I got to 20, they started making sense again.”‘
(While addressing his players)
“I want to urge you to continue being who you are because our young boys in this country, they need to hear from you,” he said. “If anything, be bolder in who you are. Because our boys are getting a lot of the wrong messages about what it means to be a man in this world. About how you should act, and how you should dress, and how you should talk, and how you should treat people. They don’t always get the right message, but you guys have the right messages.”
He recalled Thanksgiving, which was the last time he saw his son, as the teen rushed off to the airport.
“I said, ‘I’ll see you later.’ I didn’t get to hug him. I knew I’d see him again pretty soon, so it didn’t really bother me very much,” Dungy said.
“We talked on the phone a lot the last few days. We’re always talking about what was going to happen. The last few days he was saying — as the guys on the team know he would — he was saying: ‘Dad, we’re going to the Super Bowl, and when we do, will I be on the field?’”…
…”And I said: ‘Yeah, man. You know the hard part is getting there, but if we do, you know you’re going to be on the field.’ … But I never got to hug him again. That’s one thing I’ll always think about and always remind people to do: Hug ‘em every chance you get.”
There seems to be so much in life that we tend to take for granted. So do yourself a favor and let the people closest to you know that you care. It doesn’t matter if it “seems a little silly,” or “might embarrass you.” You never really know if you’ll get the chance to do it again…
“Hug ‘em every chance you get.”
Tags: Misc, parenthood
