Bill Belew has raised 2 bi-cultural kids, now 34 and 30. And he and his wife are now parenting a 3rd, Mia, who is 8.

Well, it’s been almost an hour and I am still staring at the blank screen. No, I am not wasting my time. I am not sitting idle.

I am thinking.

I am on a tight schedule this week and I do not, cannot, waste time. I completed my assignment for this week on my blog– 7 Blogs in 2 days. 2 days of non-stop inbound marketing strategies and content marketing ideas and I thought I was on a roll.

For this guest post, I am supposed to write about lessons I learned from my Dad and I thought … this is going to be cakewalk. But even after spending almost one hour, staring at the blank screen,  I am still at a loss for words. I do not know where to begin talking about “My Old Man”

Now when I think about it, I guess it’s because I do not want to share moments with my dad with anyone else.

They are special.

Normally, dads, being the head of the family or rather the male member in the family are thought of as serious, strict, reticent and sometimes even scary. No kidding. I am still scared of uttering a single word in front of my best friend’s father. Still. After almost 12 years of friendship, countless sleepovers, and the fact that we are both now married. But I am still scared.

My dad is totally the opposite. (Its my mom in our house who you should beware of)

Its funny to think how much he has rubbed off on me. He is soft spoken and quiet, quick to anger but even quicker to forget. He is a little practical and a lot emotional, though I got to know about his emotional side only after I got married.

There are a lot of things that I have learned from my dad or simply inherited them

• There is no greater joy in the world than laze-ins or sleep-ins on weekends. Life goes by in a blur during the week. Sit back, relax and enjoy on weekends. Spend time with family. Or sleep. Both are equally fulfilling.
• Time spent reading is time well spent. Both of us are suspense thriller buffs. I used to sneak into his collection of Fredrick Forsyths and Robert Ludlums all the time when I was a kid. True they never helped me in my grades but I developed a life long passion for books that has never left me feeling alone.
• Any bad day can be forgotten over a nice action thriller. No chic flicks, no dramas, no tears. Plain adrenaline pushing thrillers.
• Do not start a long journey without checking your car for gas and tires. Travel relaxed with the knowledge of a full gas tank and excellent condition tires.
• Always put family first. My dad was in a transferable job and most of the time it would not be possible for us to join him because of our studies and my old grandfather. He always chose commuting, sometimes up to seven hours a day, just so he could be with his family at the end of the day.
• Be content – with little or with much.There were many a times when money was tight. He never let me or my sister get affected in any way. And my parents were always content.
• Be honest. Never cheat someone. He made it a point to teach us this by example. And this is something I can never forget.
• Save for the rainy day. No matter how good today was, you should always be prepared for tomorrow.
• Do not spend more than you can earn. My sister always call me names over my refusal to spend but I always think twice before spending on anything.
• Laugh often. Laugh a lot.

I could go on and on but I guess I do not want to share my special lessons with anyone. For they are my special moments with him.

I am pretty sure, he would have done the same if he were in my position.

I am my father’s daughter.

Talk to Bill and others about their experiences raising bi-cultural Japanese-American kids.