This past week I heard my Daddy’s words in my head.

“Wait until they commit.”

When he was teaching me to drive eons ago that was one of the things he told me repeatedly. It has stuck with me for all these years and this past week as I debated turning across lanes with an oncoming car with its turn signal on I heard it again and was glad I heeded it. That car did not turn and if I had gone when I thought about it I would have risked an accident. I waited until he committed or rather didn’t commit.

“Wait until they commit” can be a good policy not just when driving a car, don’t you think? Sometimes in our daily lives we jump in far too quickly and and don’t weigh all of the pros and cons appropriately. I have been known to take on projects because someone else has said they were in on it to help and then poof–that help disappears and it lands squarely on my shoulders. In that case I should have followed my Daddy’s advice.

I love how this memory conjures up learning to drive in a huge brown station wagon with a lot of power. By the time I rolled around my Daddy. had taught 3 other children ( and I think my mom) how to drive. I am sure he was tired of it by then but he was the image of patience.

I remember him driving the behemoth to the high school parking lot, letting me slip behind the wheel, and walking me through all the things that I needed to do to start driving. I clearly remember driving up over the curb in front of the middle school and freaking out. He talked me down, had me turn off the car, and sat there and told me that there was a lot of horsepower that I was driving. Yes, yes there was.

Fortunately I managed to get my license on the first try after a driver’s education course with Mr. Sherman and a car of giggly girls. That ability to drive has taken me many places and I can’t imagine not having that freedom to get in a car and go when I want/need to go.

But through it all I hear my Daddy’s voice in my mind so often imparting words of wisdom like “wait until they commit” and I am so very grateful.

What are you grateful for today? I would love to hear all about it in the comments. Remember to Comment for a Cause for Power Up.