Lessons from My Father

            It was a hot day at the end of July in 2007, the day my hands were filled with luggage and my eyes enlarged with sadness to see everyone in my family around me at the airport. I saw my father's tears running down on his cheeks. I realized at that moment what an extraordinary influence my father has been in my life. It was not easy for a man at the end of his fifties to show his tears. I realized how much my father was devoted to his family, and how much he changed in my existence and my life. That day I was moving away not only from my family but also from my childhood memories to a different world. I was moving to United State to complete my study. I realized all of the struggled in his life, the guidance with his experience and affection he gave me.
             My father's life was full of lessons and experience of someone who had grown up in Kufr Kall, Jordan in the 1950s. My father was one of ten children in his family, and they were farmers with a lot of land that required a lot of work and effort. Therefore, my grandparents never had enough cash to provide for a full education for all of their children. After he finished middle school, he was forced to move to the city with his younger brother to start high school. He understood how important education was to succeed in the future. He studied hard with little food or cash which he had to share with his brother. On weekends, he had to struggle with transportation, because there were barely any cars or good roads back then. Therefore he had to walk for four hours to get back to his village if he wanted to see his family. Before his senior year in high school, he got very sick, and my grandfather carried him to get help. The hospitals were only in the capital, which was very far way. With extreme difficulty, my grandfather found a car to take them to the capital. My father still has a huge cut from that surgery. He lost one year of his education but that did not stop his dream of education.