when i was growing up i do not recall hearing the words "i love you" from my father. when your father n*r says them to you when you are a child, it gets tougher and tougher for him to say those words as he gets older. to tell the truth, i could not honestly remember when i had last said those words to him either. i decided1 to set my ego2（自我，自负） aside and make the first move. after some hesitation3, in our next phone conversation i blurted4 out the words, "dad… i love you!"
there was a silence at the other end and he awkwardly（笨拙地） replied, "well, same back at ya!"
i chuckled5 and said, "dad, i know you love me, and when you are ready, i know you will say what you want to say."
fif* minutes later my mother called and nervously6 asked, "paul, is *rything okay?"
a few weeks later, dad concluded our phone conversation with the words, "paul, i love you." i was at work during this conversation and the tears were rolling down my cheeks as i finally "heard" the love. as we both sat there in tears we realized that this special moment had taken our father/son relationship to a new l*l.
a short while after this special moment, my father narrowly escaped death following heart surgery. many times since, i have pondered（考虑） the thought, if i did not take the first step and dad did not survive the surgery, i would have n*r "heard" the love.
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