{"id":434,"date":"2020-01-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-17T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailydad.com\/?p=434"},"modified":"2022-06-29T01:50:36","modified_gmt":"2022-06-29T01:50:36","slug":"just-listen-just-listen-just-listen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailydad.com\/just-listen-just-listen-just-listen\/","title":{"rendered":"Just Listen. Just Listen. Just Listen"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we\u2019ve written about before, <\/span>Ted Williams was not a good father<\/span><\/a>. He was a great baseball player who totally neglected the responsibilities of being a dad…until eventually his hardened exterior cracked. With time, and mostly due to the persistent efforts of his children, he began to connect and share with them. He began to be the father they had wanted and needed for so long.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is one scene in <\/span>Wright Thompson\u2019s profile of Williams\u2019 daughter<\/span><\/a> that shows Ted learning one of the most basic lessons of being a great father\u2014one that we could all use a reminder of today (and, by the way, one that will make you a <\/span>better husband<\/span><\/a> and boss and person too). It happened when Claudia was going through a painful breakup. For some reason, she decided she would actually open up to her father about it, that she\u2019d actually invite this man who had rejected her so many times when she was younger into her private pain. Almost immediately it became tense, a kind of argument about what to do.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPlease don\u2019t be mad,\u201d she pleaded with him. \u201cJust listen to me. I am hurting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Williams grinded his teeth and struggled with his impotence towards another person\u2019s problem. \u201cWhat the hell do you want me to do about it!\u201d he shouted. \u201cI can\u2019t do a fucking thing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Then Claudia said the words that every father needs to remember: \u201cJust tell me you love me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Then Williams said the words that every father needs to say: \u201cJESUS CHRIST. I love you more than you\u2019ll ever know.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But most importantly: He did what you need to do more of, when your spouse has a problem, when your kids have a problem, when they come to you with news or with worries or with mistakes. <\/span>He listened.<\/span><\/i> Just listen. That\u2019s all you have to do. You don\u2019t have to solve it. <\/span>You don\u2019t have to tell them what they did wrong<\/span><\/a>. You don\u2019t have to make it go away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You just have to hear them. You just have to let them know that you love them.<\/span><\/p>\n

P.S.\u00a0<\/i><\/b>This was originally sent<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/a> on January 21, 2020. Sign up today for <\/i><\/b>the Daily Dad’s email <\/a><\/i><\/b><\/span>and get our popular 11 page eBook, \u201c20 Things Great Dads Do Everyday<\/i><\/b>.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we\u2019ve written about before, Ted Williams was not a good father. He was a great baseball player who totally neglected the responsibilities of being a dad…until eventually his hardened exterior cracked. With time, and mostly due to the persistent efforts of his children, he began to connect and share with them. He began to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nJust Listen. Just Listen. Just Listen - The Daily Dad<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dailydad.com\/just-listen-just-listen-just-listen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Just Listen. Just Listen. 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