Biting My Tongue

Whenever I’m at networking events, I always end up talking about my family. We can only talk shop for so long, and everyone is always willing to talk about their kids. I don’t know if I’m thinking about my Dad more now that he’s gone, or if I’m just noticing it more, but here are some examples from this past week.

At dinner, a colleague tells me that he used to live in Summit, New Jersey.  I readily reply

My Dad grew up there.

After learning where I live, a colleague tells me that his children were born at a nearby hospital. I think, but don’t say

My Dad died there.

We are plotting out a college visit road trip for my son. He wants to visit a school that is close to my Dad’s alma mater, but he isn’t really interested in my Dad’s school. My husband is trying to convince him to check it out because it is a good school with a good engineering program. I bite my tongue to keep from saying

Grandaddy would be so happy if you went there.

I probably couldn’t say that without crying anyway. I still have the hat I bought to give my Dad for Father’s Day when we were at the school in February for a wrestling tournament.