Thread by @TheRealDoctorT

Mrs. Darling: “There are many different kinds of bravery. There's the bravery of thinking of others before one's self.

Now, your father has never brandished a sword nor fired a pistol, thank heavens. But he has made many sacrifices for his family, and put away many dreams.” 1/

Michael: “Where did he put them?”

Mrs. Darling: “He put them in a drawer. And sometimes, late at night, we take them out and admire them. But it gets harder and harder to close the drawer... He does. And that is why he is brave.”

J.M. Barrie - “Peter Pan.” 2/

When I was little, not much older than a couple of years, I lived in Germany.

I don’t have many memories that are still clear from back then.

But I do have one.

I’m sitting on my father’s shoulders, near a fountain in a park. The fountain towers over us. I look up. 3/

An optical illusion is created, and as I look up it seems like the entire fountain is slowly tipping over onto me.

I panic, and cry. My dad rests his hands on my ankles and tells me not to worry.

He steps back, and I calm down. My tiny fingers are clutching his thick hair. 4/

Why do we save up things to say? Why do we think we will get more time later? How many unspoken thoughts are put away, only to never be spoken into existence?

I love my father. And my mother. And my sister.

But this one’s for him. For him, I’ve always put my words away. 5/

If you comment on my posts, you might notice an account liking what you say. The name is @AfzalT6. It’s my dad.

He’s never actually posted a single thing on Twitter, besides one lone reply. He made it just so he could support me, and support my followers.

That’s his love. 6/

His father, my grandfather, was a military man. But he was also a poet. My dad came from a generation where emotions were suppressed, but he still feels them deeply.

He is moved to tears easily.

I know he’ll tear up reading this unexpected thread.

I love him, deeply. 7/

There was a time in my life when we were moving a lot. Every year, sometimes multiple times a year. I used to lose all the friendships I’d made and become the new kid all over again.

I know it broke his heart to see my depression when the move inevitably happened again. 8/

So, to prevent me from having to move to a new city during elementary school, he decided to drive 2-3 hours each way to work, daily.

He would leave before sunrise, and get home late.

One of his arms got darker, because it faced sunrise, and then sunset, for hours every day. 9/

The school I went to was a private school, overseas. We weren’t particularly wealthy growing up, but my dad made sure that bill was paid before any other.

I can’t recall him spending anything on himself as I grew up.

Except a watch, which he has owned now for thirty years. 10/

When he was in college, my father was an athlete. He was talented, in fact he was so talented that he thought of making a career of it.

But he realized that this wouldn’t be a reliable source of income. In those days sports didn’t make money. He had a family to support. 11/

Nowadays my father is retired. And he happily plays golf, and does crossword puzzles, and offers me sage advice on my Twitter threads.

He did indulge the other day and bought himself a smart watch. Black Friday.

It’s still in the box. His old watch is still on his wrist. 12/

It’s a strange feeling, to be someone’s hopes and dreams. To know that someone has sacrificed for you, put aside their dreams to make yours reality.

How do you honor that?

I don’t know. I don’t know that I ever can. But I won’t stop trying.

It is always on my mind. 13/

Any good thing I do in this lifetime, or any other, a part of it will come from him. In this way he will be immortal.

Someday I’ll die.

I hope that when I do, I’ll feel the wind on my face, and realize I’m a kid again, sitting on his shoulders.

And I won’t be afraid. /14

Without going into too much detail, it’s been a long and tough week.

Normally I would write to process it. But all I can think of right now is not squandering the time I have.

Tell people they matter to you, and tell them you love them. Don’t put it aside for another day.