Last night we got all dressed up and headed to 220 Merrill in Birmingham, MI to celebrate my dad’s 80th birthday. We’ve never thrown him an official party and so it was pretty nice to surprise him with something special. I suspect he had somewhat of a clue something was going down when my mom asked him to get dressed; and he was maybe even more hip to it all when Brian arrived at their house as the official “chauffeur” of the night. Whether he had it all figured out or not I think we were all happy to just see him enjoying it all.
I remember in grade school, teachers or administrators would often mistake my dad for my granddad. School administrator at the PTA meeting: “You brought your granddad with you?” Me: “No this is my dad…” My mom’s pregnancies were all in her 30’s and my dad is nine years her senior so, yeah our parents have typically always been a little older than my peers’ parents. This has always been its own little blessing because their maturity meant a wisdom filled childhood for us.
In all transparency though, it’s a little bit scary having older parents as you grow older. You don’t really think about it when you are young and less “aware” of life and think you have excess of time with everything. But then you blink your eyes and ten years has danced by you. If I don’t think about it, it still feels like they are suspended at 60 or 70 years old. In the middle of dinner, Ash was sitting on my lap, on YouTube (you know catching up on all of his Cars 2 vids. These kids, smh). Anyway, I see my dad staring at him, and then he says, “You know I was about Little Man’s age when my grandmother passed away.” He calls Ash “Little Man.” Ash calls him “Pa Pa.” My response, “Well you aren’t planning on leaving us anytime soon are you?” He shook his head, “Nope.” Good.
It was time well spent celebrating 80 years of life well lived and all of the marks my dad has made. A night steeped in great food, lots of laughs, familial conversation, great service, cotton candy, and my personal favorite, birthday cake (from my favorite bakery)! Brian chauffeured my parents back home as Ash and I trekked back to Ann Arbor. My dad called me while I was in route home to tell me that he would never forget the night. In his own words “I have some of the best kids in the world.” I told him that he deserved every bit of it and more.
I pray that God continues to bless my parents with longevity and good health. I pray that they see and feel the appreciation and love I have for them. I know that none of us are here on this earth to stay forever, but while we are here I pray our days are filled with everything from last night, the strong bond of family, love, laughs, and happiness. Oh, and birthday cake with chocolate covered strawberries and grape flavored cotton candy too. Happy Birthday daddy!
Photo Credit: Timothy Blanks
