My Dad, My Dad, My Dad

5 years old Dad knows everything.

7 years old Dad knows a lot.

10 years old Maybe Dad doesn't know everything after all.

12 years old Dad doesn't know anything.

14 years old Dad's gone crazy.

16 years old I can't take Dad seriously.

18 years old What does Dad even know?

22 years old Dad's talking nonsense.

24 years old I know more than Dad.

26 years old Dad seems to know some things after all.

30 years old I think I should ask Dad about this.

40 years old It's amazing how Dad went through all this.

45 years old Dad's been right all along.

50 years old If Dad were here, I could have learned so much from him.

60 years old I look in the mirror and realize I've become my father.

70 years old I hear his voice in my own as I guide my grandchildren.

80 years old I realize his wisdom is woven into my DNA—the foundation that allowed me to see further than he ever could.