This week was INSANE. In-sane. I'll leave out the wretched details for the sake of my pride. But let's just say that all because of mistakes on my part, a lot of money got spent, several trips were scheduled and rescheduled and cancelled and rescheduled again, other people had to change their plans and weeks and give time and energy and money, and it was INSANE.
Vague, huh? Well, I want you all to still like me. I will just hint these few things:
-Don't ever lose the keys to a Volkswagen.
-Really, really don't lose the keys to a Volkswagen when you're staying with friends in rural Idaho hours from the nearest VW dealership.
-Really, really, really don't lose your driver's license along with your keys.
-Don't schedule three separate trips having you in four states in a week when each one is dependent on the last one's happening on schedule.
-Don't forget to check in to your flight online, and if you do, get to the airport at least three minutes earlier than 27 minutes before scheduled flight.
-Don't cancel an entire round-trip flight when you thought you were only switching one leg of it.
-Read your trip insurance before you buy it to make sure it covers things like flakiness and not just deaths in the family.
Are we tracking?
It was bad, people.
So here's the part that relates to Easter.
One of these trips was that I was supposed to fly from Portland to LA to spend this weekend with my dad and Allie. This was starting to seem quite impossible given the fact that I was stranded in Idaho until who knew when and that I had-had-had to be at work on Monday morning.
I had a tearful phone call with my dad on Thursday-ish, where I said I was so so sorry I wasn't going to be able to make the trip.
He was lovely and understanding and reassuring and all other sorts of things I did not deserve (did you read the above hints carefully? get whose mistakes you are learning all these things from?)...
and he also really really wanted me to come.
We rearranged the flight.
And rearranged it.
AND REARRANGED IT AGAIN when I missed the damn red eye flight by three minutes (I'm still upset about it).
It got crazy, and expensive, and just started to seem more and more like it couldn't possibly be worth it.
And I kept saying DAD. I AM SOOOO SORRY. ARE YOU SURE. THIS IS INSANE.
And my dad kept saying,
"I don't care how much it costs. I don't care if we have to get up early to get you to the airport. I just want to see you. I'm so excited to be with you."
My crazy, ridiculous father, despite the fact that his lovely, organized plans for me coming had been completely screwed over by my repeated inability to function as a capable adult...
Just. Wanted. To. Be. With. Me.
So I finally freaking made it to LA. We went to Disneyland and we went out to dinner and we had breakfast and coffee and talked and laughed and hugged and processed grad school and fought (I mean, we're being honest here, right?) and I was still stressed and tired and overemotional and I mean seriously, had been all over the Northwest by the seat of my pants in the last three days and by the time I got there I literally could not remember the last time I had showered.
And my dad kept hugging me and kissing my head and posing us for pictures and saying, over and over,
"I'm so glad I got to spend time with you! It's so wonderful to have you here! I just love being with you!"
So, this Easter weekend,
let me offer up my flakiness as a real-life parable I got to live out this week:
Fathers would do anything to be with their children.
Even when it's costly.
And more costly, and really getting absurdly costly.
Even when the children don't deserve it.
Even when due to their own mistakes they throw away the opportunity and then the other opportunity and the other one.
Even when it seems like they will barely make it by the seat of their pants and they're exhausted and crabby and tearful and dirty and are wondering how anyone could possibly have thought all this trouble and expense was worth it.
Fathers would do anything
because they so want to be with their children.
He has Risen.
He has Risen indeed.
Alleluia.
Happy Easter.
Dad and Em on Tom Sawyer Island, March 30, 2013
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