Goal #4: See my Father -- Check!!

Wow... honestly, I thought this was the goal that wouldn't get accomplished this year. Not to be rude to my father, but he isn't the greatest on follow-through. (You know it's true, Dad!). I can't tell you how many times we had "planned" a visit to see each other only to be canceled at the last minute for some obscure reason.  So when I first chose this as a goal of mine, not only did everyone think I was crazy, but I told my father about it over the holidays.  Had to give that man enough prep time. He had 12 whole months to get his act together and make it happen! :) It wasn't one I was going to stress over, though.  If it happened, then great. If not, life still goes on.

For those of you who know me well, you know that I don't exactly have the picture perfect relationship with my father. My mom raised us on her own, and I've really only met him once during my adult life.  We first met when I was 19 years old in sunny Florida. That was an interesting experience to say the least. A lot of emotions run through you when you realize someone so critical to your life missed out on so much.  Seven years had past since our first visit, and I had figured it was a good time to see each other again, but little did I know it would happen on a whim. My dad is like an energizer bunny and a ghost combined (His favorite line - Often imitated, but never duplicated - that's a good thing! ha!).  He flies from city to city and you can't keep track of where he's going next.  I think it's safe to say that I have certain aspects of his personality - the love of travel, the adventuresome spirit, the on-the-go mentality, and the ability to charm the heck out of anyone. Two weekends ago, I was in Pittsburgh visiting my sister, brother-in-law, and the two CUTEST little nephews ever. I know, I'm biased....but, I'm there Aunt and I'm allowed to be :).  See pictures below....

Me and Graem, my 2-yr-old nephew!

Me and Emmett, my 4 month old nephew!

While in Pittsburgh, I received a call from my Dad saying he was doing business in Ohio and he wanted to do dinner with me and my sister. I was a little skeptical at first that it would actually happen, but figured that these opportunities don't come around that often (since he lives in Florida), so I thought it was best to go see the old man! I'm a happy-go-lucky person and I've forgiven my Dad for not being there for me.  At the end of the day, I am the woman I am because of my upbringing and my stricter-than-life mom (love you, Mom!). I don't hold any grudges or bitterness. To me, there's no point. God hands you circumstances for a reason and I ended up just a-okay in life.

My sister and I took a mini-road trip and met my father in the hoppin' city of Youngstown, Ohio (insert sarcasm here), about an hour from Pittsburgh. [Side Note: I rented the 2011 Hyundai Sonata to get there - SWEET car!]  I realized I'm SUCH a city girl now.... Youngstown has all of a few stop lights and restaurants, with men named Billy-Bob whose goatees are longer than my hair.  Not really my style.   We went to the highest-rated seafood restaurant in all of Youngstown. It was a cute place and we met my dad and had drinks by the bar in the first part of our visit. My dad looked great. He looked healthy and still had memories of all his old stories...even some crazy ones about times when my mom and him were together back in the day! We caught up on life, and all that we were doing over the past few years. I think I shocked my dad at first.... 10 minutes into our aperitifs, I was like, "Can we get dinner now? I'm hungry..."  I wasn't trying to rush, but my stomach was a-growlin'! He told me I was a bossy kid... guess that hasn't changed too much now that I'm older :). The man was smart enough to order an appetizer, so I could fill my stomach without getting cranky.  What can I say, my less-than-perfect patience and my demanding personality must come from my Mom....

While at dinner, I felt like my sister saw heaven's gates open up.  She hadn't had an alcoholic beverage in three years due to having two kids.  She was quite content to have a few cocktails on Dad's dime. ;)  Dinner was great, though, and all in all, the visit couldn't have gone better.  We reminisced, talked about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness, and Dad was sure to throw in a few of his jokes here and there.  I know it meant a lot to him that Marci and I took the time to go see him. Who knows when that next time will be, but I was glad I went to see him and was able to get a few nice pictures of us together.  I mean, he is partially responsible for my good looks, so I have to kind of thank him for that right?! .....haha, just joking!

At the end of the day, we all have to make choices and decisions that allow us to be at peace with ourselves when we lay our head down at night. I knew making the effort to go see him was the right thing to do and I'm happy with my choice. I'm glad my sister and I could give my Dad a reason to smile for that short time having dinner with him.

 

For those of you wondering: here are the goals that I have left.  I'm doing pretty darn well, if I must say so myself. It's at the end of the first quarter, and I'm more than halfway there!

1. Volunteer at least 40 hours to a Children's Organization
2. Go Skydiving 
3. Learn how to shoot a gun at a shooting range - (This is in the works; tickets are bought, I just need to schedule it!)
4. Ask one guy out that I would totally be scared to approach.
5. Write one Children's story
6. Participate in the Warrior Dash - coming up in three short weeks!