"See, my old man and I never had that conversation. The one where you say what needs saying. He went to his grave without ever telling me he loved me, and I did the same damn thing right back to him. We were both products of that generation where men showed love by showing up to work, not by saying words."
"Now I'm sixty-four, and I spend more time than I probably should thinking about all the things I never said. Not just to him, but to a lot of people who mattered. Willie's right-it's never too early to start appreciating people. But what he doesn't say, and what I've learned the hard way, is that it can definitely be too late."
An adult narrator reflects on a missed opportunity to express love to his father, who never said he loved him before dying. The narrator links cultural norms of men showing love through work to emotional distance and personal regret. After the father's death the narrator recognizes similar emotional distance with his sons and resolves to say 'I love you' despite discomfort. The narrator notes that waiting for perfect moments eliminated opportunities, and that appreciating people early matters because later may be too late. The memory of practical lessons from the father contrasts sharply with limited knowledge of his inner life.
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