feliz dia del padre

I originally wrote this essay with the intention of submitting it Fremont News Messenger for publication today. Unfortunately, I’m an airhead (blame it on the blonde) and missed the deadline while I was gallivanting around the rice paddies. The good news is, I’m no longer limited to 250 words. Especially now, given the recent passing of my dad’s father, I just want him to know how much I love him and miss him. I’m not sure they know this, but there are a lot of times—even here, so far away—when I just can’t believe how I got so damn lucky to have the parents I do. I don’t know where I’d be without them. So here goes:

Lying under the summer sky, my sister and I shrieked with laughter, shattering the silence of the bay. “No way, Dad!” We’d yelp as we secretly clung to each other under our sleeping bags.

From the boat’s cuddy our father grinned, satisfied with his ghastly tale about the Headless Horseman haunting the Portage River drawbridge. His stories always included a rich history of the area: battles on the lake, noble Native Americans, valiant settlers. We didn’t realize it then, but our dad has always shared life’s lessons in a magical way.

As children, he taught us through his love for Lake Erie, as he revealed the beauty of the waves, the triumph of a fat perch on the line, and the importance of respecting nature and people alike. When we got older, his lessons moved to our driveway basketball court, where the sky darkened and dinner cooled as I practiced endless free throws. He taught me patience, persistence, and unconditional love as he waited out my poor shooting skills and surly teenage attitude. In college, he’d write letters. Homesick or heartbroken, I’d find a note in my mailbox, reminding me that, “this too shall pass.” Now, as I navigate the nebulous world of adulthood, he reminds me of one simple rule by which to live: help people. Be kind. Focus on family.

Today, half a world away on Father’s day, I smile and remember those summer days long-ago, knowing how just lucky I am to have such a wonderful father—and friend.

good-bye, mando!

Today my lil sister packs up her bags and begins her days-long journey to Seattle, Washington, where she will begin law school at Seattle University this summer. I'm proud of her, for graduating at the top of her class from DePaul University, and for taking the leap to embark on such a big adventure.

Perhaps most of all, though, I am scared for her. Scared because she's about to spend 4 days in a Uhaul with this guy:

(Nels, Mandy)

That's our dad, who apparently thinks he is Madonna and is also attempting to rock a new fashion trend by stringing more than one pair of specs around his neck (his record is three). He may be goofy, but the man's a saint. Between Mandy and I, he and my mom will have moved us over 15 times in the past 5 years, crossing the entire country thriceover in the process. The two of them are packing up and taking off this afternoon and taking 90 west until they reach Mandy's new city, and her new life as a law student.

I have no doubt that my sister will be tremendously successful in law school. Her energy, passion and intelligence will make her a formidable lawyer, and I feel sorry for any sorry schmuck who has to come up against her in court!I hope her years in law school are filled with adventures and learning...as long as she doesn't learn how to out-argue me!

It's been really wonderful having Mandy so close to me in Chicago the last four years, and I feel like our relationship has finally evolved from the love-hate immaturity of high school to the deep friendship it was truly meant to be. Sadly, our combined moves means the distance between us will jump from 1 mile to 2,928 miles, but I am sure we will remain as close as ever!

Good luck, Mando. I'll miss you, but I can't wait to hear all about your new adventure!

take me down to paradise city

Also known as Port Clinton, Ohio. Skeptical?

View from my parent's lakeside condo:



Ok, I'll fess up. I didn't take this photo, but it is Lake Erie, the most beautiful place on earth (through my rose-colored lenses, anyway) and the place where I am gladdest (is that a word? dunno but it's how I feel).

I am heading home tomorrow to spend my holiday weekend there. It's my last weekend with my baby sis before she moves to Seattle to law school, so we better make it good!