I visited with my Dad over the weekend for his 70th birthday. It was a really lovely and relaxed time.
It’s always funny waiting at the airport for him. I start wondering what car he’s driving. He reminds me but I still have to wonder if I’ll recognize it when I see it pulling around the bend at the Portland airport. It’s hard to see people’s faces through the windshield and I’m paranoid that I would be looking right at him but not recognizing him. He’s so good at telling me how many minutes he is away, because he’s memorized every single light and how long it takes to get there. I totally got that from him, btw.
It’s really nice to be able to have that time to chat with him on the drive home. He has the worst habit of uneven acceleration of the car that gives me a little motion sickness but as long as I remind him that it drives me crazy, it’s a smooth ride. What’s so funny is that going to the airport to leave, one kid will always go with him. They will usually stop at a store or get something to eat on the way home. It reminds me that it’s extremely efficient to get an Uber to/from airports but there is something about the way you feel when a loved one insists on picking you up, knowing that it’s the time spent together that is the important thing. Even if I won’t often pick people up at the airport, it’s a good lesson for me. 🙂 I’m totally fine with getting an Uber but it’s the feeling of being wanted even after I say it’s not needed is what gets me. That someone really wants to spend time with me and pick me up from the airport is so nice. Now, Portland is not as bad as LAX but still…
Once we got home, it was so nice settling in at the kitchen table. Ryan was eating at the table and I sat down to chat, as did Dad and Cindy. It’s always so interesting sitting down at people’s kitchen tables and seeing how they live. They have this little fan going in the corner and a pleasantly scented candle burning on the top of the table. We idly chatted about all sorts of random topics for an hour.
Dad did get a little bored and moved upstairs to putter away at his computer so then I got to hang out with Cindy for a few hours and chat. Ryan went off to work. Cindy and I went on a walk with the dog. It was basically a very chill weekend. We also celebrated Dad’s birthday! I probably could have made it more special in terms of getting balloons and special themed 70 gifts but it just wasn’t calling to me and I’m okay with that. I feel like that speaks a little to liking things simple and authentic. I appreciate putting in more effort but Dad is not quite the type to put in huge effort for birthday parties and really, I did FLY all the way up there so that really is filled with effort!
It did make me laugh that the morning of his birthday, I had been up for hours and didn’t quite remember to say HBD the very moment I saw him! It was an hour later and he did comment on it. Oh well. It was a really nice morning.
What I’m really feeling good about a week after coming back is that I was able to share things in my life that were working well for me, and they were so interested and went ahead and bought/made the things I was recommending! It’s so satisfying to pass on helpful information.
The first thing I was laughing about was that I had worn my extremely comfortable LuLu dance cargo pants on the plane and was telling Cindy about them. She ended up trying on mine, figuring out the size she needed, and ordering three pairs for herself. These pants are really incredibly comfortable. My Mom recommended them to Sam and I, and I am passing along the favor to anyone else that I can influence. I need an affiliate link on that thing.
All three of them are very health oriented, and I had brought three days of my homemade yogurt to eat for one of my meals. I was telling them they should be making yogurt because it’s so healthy and delicious. I helped them buy some yogurt starter, showed them how to make it in their Instant Pot (why is it not called InstaPot), and gave them strict instructions on how to drip it. I called Dad a few days later to thank him for hosting me and asked how the yogurt was. He said how delicious it was and how he’s now “mashing up” fruit and putting granola on it and it’s such a good meal. And I was like, YES! YES it is delicious! I’m so happy to share that with them and glad they are seeing the benefit. The fermentation and extra probiotics that come from homemade yogurt are so good. For the most part, store bought absolutely works but with Ryan’s health issues and Dad’s stomach stuff, not having bifidus in there can potentially be a little bit more healthy for them. Either way, they learned a new skill and have the possibility to make it or not. But they tried on my recommendation so that was so thrilling for me.
The last day, we were sitting at the kitchen table again before I was going to leave, and Dad was showing me his water bottle so I started telling them about my Owala bottle and how they are so trendy and are found everywhere and Sam bought one for me for Christmas and I really liked it. I was describing what I liked about it, namely the straw feature and how easy it was. They promptly bought two. And later, Dad was RAVING about how great it was for him when he was on the bike and how he loved it so much. Cindy was saying how she liked that it was closed off on the top (unlike her Stanely) so going into work she didn’t have to worry about germs.
Right as I was packing up, Cindy noticed my travel bag and then asked me about it… I don’t think she bought that one though!
It was just so satisfying and I’m still thinking about it this week and laughing to myself. I love influencing people for good and helping them find the right things to make their lives better. It’s like planting little seeds of positive change, watching them sprout, and knowing that a small suggestion can make a real difference in someone’s day-to-day life. And honestly, seeing them genuinely happy with their new discoveries? That’s the best feeling.
