My dad, Joseph Robinette Biden Sr., was a good man. What I learned from him, I learned from watching.
He'd been knocked down as a young man, but he never stopped trying. He was the first one up in our house every morning, clean-shaven, well dressed, putting on the coffee, getting ready to go to work.
My dad taught me the value of effort and work, and he taught me about shouldering burdens with grace.
He didn't judge a man by how many times he got knocked down, but by how fast he got up.
Get up. That was his phrase, and it's echoed throughout my life. Bad day? Get up. The world dropped you on your head? Get up. Lying in bed feeling sorry for yourself? Get up.
Long after he passed away, my dad's wisdom has continued to get me through some of the hardest moments of my life. And I'll never stop being grateful.
My wish for all of you, today and everyday, is that you have someone in your life who steadies you and gives you the resolve to move forward -- to keep getting up -- the way my dad did for me.
Happy Father's Day.
- Joe |
|