Working with Dad

I was at work the other day and had a memory pop into my head. I was 14 or 15 and Dad was a Brand Central Manager at Sears. There were numerous times that Dad would ask us to come in a help him get his store ready for a big visit or a big sale. One morning it was just Dad and me. We got there early in the morning before any of his sales people. He would get some coffee for himself and hot chocolate for me. As we enjoyed our drinks, we had a morning meeting to
set the game plan to get ready for the event. We would get everything we needed to clean and organize and then get started. He would start on one end, I on the other; windex and rag in hand. Those appliance were spotless as we met in the middle. He showed me how to read the planograms to make sure they were in the right order. Then onto electronics with dusters in tow. As his employees came in, we had a good bit completed. He would have to carry a phone and run the show as he did often for Sears. He asked if I wanted to go into the mall or work some more. Of course I wanted to go to the mall, but I didn't want to let him down. So he told me a couple more things to do. Lunch time came, and he took me to lunch at the food court. He would tell a couple of war stories, of which he had a million, as I just listened and learned. When we came back, a couple of his employees heckled him for bringing in his son to work. He said with such pride, "I wanted it done right". I think that pretty much shut them up. It might have been against the rules to have me there cleaning; but looking back, I long for those days again and appreciate the lessons of retail that my Dad shared with me, not only that day, but also in the years following his retirement.
I know that all the time spent with Dad at work led me to my own career path. October 1st I celebrated my 11 year anniversary with Lowe's. He taught me a lot of what I know, and as a manager I apply those lessons that he shared. We all thought we would have more time with him and with that time could learn a little more. I cherish the time I did have with him and long for the vast knowledge that we did not have time to share, but feel lucky to have had the lessons few managers will ever have the privilege of learning.