In a class I teach for adults， I gave the class homework！ The assignment was to go to someone you love and tell them you love them.
It doesn’t sound like a very tough assignment①， until you realize that most of the men were over 35 and were raised in the generation of men that were taught that expressing emotions is not “macho” ②.
At the beginning of our next class， I asked if someone wanted to share his experience. A man raised his hand. He appeared quite moved and a bit shaken.
He began， “Dennis， I was quite angry with you last week when you gave us this assignment. I didn’t feel that I had anyone to say those words to. But as I was driving home my conscience③ started talking to me. It was telling me that I knew exactly who I needed to say ‘I love you’ to. You see， five years ago， my father and I had a serious disagreement and never resolved④it since that time. We avoided seeing each other unless we had to be at Christmas or other family gatherings. So last Tuesday by the time I got home I had convinced⑤myself I was going to tell my father I loved him.”
“It’s weird⑥， but just making that decision seemed to lift a heavy load off my chest.”
“The next day at 5：30 p.m.， I was at my parents’ house ringing the doorbell. It was Dad who answered the door.”
“I didn’t waste any time， I took one step in the door and said， ‘Dad， I just came over to tell you that I love you.’”
“It was as if a transformation⑦ came over my dad. Before my eyes his face softened， the wrinkles seemed to disappear and he began to cry. He reached and hugged⑧ me and said， ‘I love you too， son， but I’ve never been able to say it.’”
“It was such a precious moment.”
“But that’s not even my point. Two days after that visit， my dad， who had a heart attack and ended up⑨in hospital， unconscious⑩. I don’t know if he’ll make it.”
“So my message to all of you in this class is this： Don’t wait to do the things you know need to be done. What if I had waited to tell my dad， maybe I will never get the chance again！ Take the time to do what you need to do and do it now！”
① assignmentn. 分配，任务，（课外）作业
② machoadj. 男子的，男子气的
③ consciencen. 良心，道德心
④ resolvev. 解决
⑤ convincev. 使确信，使信服
⑥ weirdadj. 怪异的，不可思议的
⑦ transformationn. 变化，转变
⑧ hugn. 拥抱
⑨ end up结果……
⑩ unconsciousadj. 不省人事的，无意识的
说“我爱你”
我给成人班的学生布置了家庭作业！作业的内容就是对你爱的人说一声“我爱你” 。
如果你意识到他们大多年纪在35岁以上，而且他们这一代人从小就认为表达自己的感情是不够“男子汉” 的行为，你就会明白这个作业并不那么容易。
第二次上课的时候，我问是否有人愿意和大家分享他的经历。一位男同学举起了手，他显得十分激动，而且有一些颤抖。
他开始讲他的经历：“丹尼斯，你上周给我们布置这个作业的时候，我很生气。我不觉得我需要和谁说这几个字。但是，当我开车回家的时候，我的良心和我进行了对话。良心确切地告诉我我需要和谁说‘我爱你’。五年前，我和我的父亲有过一次严重的意见不合，而且一直没有解决。除了圣诞和其他的家庭聚会以外，我们尽量避免见面。所以，上周二当我到家的时候，我说服我自己我应该告诉我的父亲我爱他。”
“虽然有点儿奇怪，但是当我做了这个决定的时候，好像是搬走了压在我心头的石头。”
“第二天下午5：30的时候，我按响了父母家的门铃。是爸爸开的门。”
“我没有浪费任何时间，向前迈了一步，对他说：‘爸爸，我来只想告诉你我爱你。’”
“爸爸好像换了一个人似的。他的脸变得柔和，脸上的皱纹也似乎消失了。爸爸哭了。他走上前抱住我说：‘儿子，我也爱你，但是我一直没有说出口。’”
“那一刻真的很珍贵。”
“但是我并不是想表达这个观点。两天之后，父亲因为心脏病突发住进了医院，昏迷不醒。我不知道他能否度过这一关。”
“我的意思是想告诉班里所有的同学：不要等到你必须要做的时候才去做。如果我没有对父亲说我可能永远都不会再有机会了！抓紧时间去做你要做的事情吧，现在就做！”