Gratitude for My Dad on Father’s Day

My Dad.

• He taught me how to use tools
• Showed me how to build stuff
• Helped us buy our first home
• Helped me pay for my Feldenkrais Training
• And finally, let me give him Feldenkrais lessons

My Dad started teaching me how to use tools and build when I was a little kid. I still have memories of him showing me how to use hand tools and power tools. We didn’t actually do that many building projects together, but I watched him a lot and then I would do my own building projects. And still today, I LOVE building stuff. And I am really good at it.

My Dad helped us buy our first house which lead to a chance meeting with a real estate investor from whom we learned the essentials of fixing and flipping properties. This brought together my love of building, owning real estate, and building wealth. My Dad being the very cautious person he was, wasn’t all that enthusiastic about real estate investing. But I think he’d be proud today as we are nearing completion of our third successful investment property.  

He also helped me pay for my Feldenkrais training. This was a huge benefit to me. It changed my life in ways previously unimaginable. You can read more about how I got into the Feldenkrais Method here “How I got into the Feldenkrais Method“.

And finally, the most crucial part of this blog, he FINALLY let me give him Feldenkrais lessons! He resisted for such a long time. 

In his 70s he developed intense vertigo. He went to doctors, tried physical therapy, and after exhausting all other treatments, he decided to try Feldenkrais lessons.

I gave him weekly lessons throughout a summer, and the vertigo resolved. That was it. He became a firm believer in the Method and my work. From then on until the end of his life, I gave him a weekly Feldenkrais lesson.

We didn’t talk much during the sessions. But something transformed between the two of us. Something in that non-verbal interaction allowed a life-long tension held between us to dissolve and fall away. And by the time of my Dad’s passing in 2010, I could say that I was able to have the kind of relationship with him that every man desires to have with his father. And for THAT, I am most grateful.