I watched quietly as my little brother was caught in the act. He sat in the corner of the living room, a pen in one hand and my father's new book in the other.
As my father walked into the room, my brother cowered slowly. He sensed that he had done something wrong. From a distance I could see that he had opened my father's new book and scribbled in it. Now, looking at my father in fear, he and I both waited for his punishment.
My father picked up his prized book, looked at it carefully, and then sat down, without saying a word. Books were valuable to him. He was a clergyman and for him, books were knowledge.What he did next was unbelievable. Instead of punishing my brother, he sat down, took the pen from my brother's hands, and then wrote in the book himself, alongside the scribbles John had made:
John s work, 1959, age 2. How many times have I looked into your beautiful face and into your warm, alert eyes looking up at me? And how many times have I thanked God for the one who has now scribbled in my new book?
"Wow," I thought, "This is punishment?" The years and the books came and went. Our family experienced what all families go through and perhaps a little bit more: happiness and sadness, laughter and tears. We always knew our parents loved us and that one of the proofs of their love was the book. From time to time we would open it, look at the scribbles, read my father's expression of love, and feel proud.