When I was growing up I do not recall hearing the words "I love you" from my father. When your father never 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，自負(fù)） 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."

　　Fifteen minutes later my mother called and nervously6 asked, "Paul, is everything 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 level.

　　A short while after this special moment, my father narrowly escaped death following heart surgery. Many times since, I have pondered（考慮） the thought, if I did not take the first step and Dad did not survive the surgery, I would have never "heard" the love.