I'm 66 and last week I told my son I was proud of him. The way he went quiet taught me that grown children still need to hear the words we assume they already know - Silicon Canals

"The silence that followed couldn't have lasted more than two seconds, but it stretched between us like a fault line. When he finally spoke, his voice had changed. Quieter. "Thanks, Dad. That... that means a lot.""

"Assumptions, I'm learning, are just another way we avoid saying what needs to be said. Growing up in my house, we didn't talk about feelings."

"If you needed something, you figured it out. If you were struggling, you pushed through. And if someone did something well, the absence of criticism was your congratulations."

"It never occurred to me to tell him I was proud of him."

A conversation between a father and his son reveals the importance of expressing pride. The father reflects on his upbringing, where feelings were rarely discussed, and how he unconsciously passed this on to his children. When he finally tells his son he is proud of him, the son is surprised, indicating a lack of verbal affirmation in their relationship. The father realizes that assumptions about understanding love and pride can lead to missed opportunities for connection and emotional expression.

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