FEBRUARY 2013It June of 2012 I threw a little shit-fit because...

FEBRUARY 2013

It June of 2012 I threw a little shit-fit because my dad, who lived only 15 minutes away from me for the last decade, up and moved to Florida with my step-mom. In February of 2013 he bought me a ticket and I flew out to visit him. I was to stay a week. In that time, I really got to bond with my dad in a way I hadn’t in years. (Since my parents divorced when I was 12, I never woke up in the same house as my dad. Staying with him in Florida and getting to have breakfast together and hear his sleepy voice in the morning was an odd & cherished treat.) I loved witnessing him interact in his new (55+) environment. It dawned on me that I had never seen my father so happy. He retired from years and years of intense physical labor and was enjoying his retirement in swimming pools, hot tubs, movie theaters, and on the baseball diamond with his “Golden Years” softball league. We spoke and laughed and understood each other in ways we hadn’t since I was a little girl. A night before I was supposed to get on a plane home, I told him I didn’t want to leave. He extended my ticket for another week. In many ways, it took him moving 1,000 miles away for us to get closer. In many ways, I’m glad he did.