You Just Never Know ….
When it will happen or where.
Last Sunday I drove out to “The East Bay”. This is a thing if you live in Marin County (just north of San Francisco). Separated by five bridges and lots of water and a temperature difference of about 30 degrees depending on exactly where you are. I left home at 58 degrees and arrived in Walnut Creek 45 minutes later at 88 degrees!! I came to watch Owen, my daughter’s son, play a tennis match to improve his UTR (Universal Tennis Rating). The tournament was held at a private tennis club in the suburb of Lafayette. As mentioned, it was hot. More importantly there was nowhere to sit, as the hospitable club had closed the covered viewing stand and provided no other visible form of viewing comfort. 88 degrees with the sun beating down, he was finally assigned a court. My daughter and I followed the players in search of a viewing spot.
Interjection
I have often made fun of people walking around NYC or other big cities during the summer carrying an open umbrella. I will not be making fun of that anytime soon.
Resume
As my daughter and I looked feverishly for some place to sit, I spotted an abandoned circular cement firepit in the dried weeds just outside the tennis court. Forgetting my snarky attitude, I remembered I had an umbrella in my car. “We can sit there and watch. I will be right back!” With umbrella in hand, we sat on the cement rim of the abandoned firepit. My daughter and I watched her son’s tennis match while I held the umbrella shielding us from the blazing afternoon sun.
The Result
As a father of five successful and busy children with lives being led from San Francisco to London, moments of real conversation are few. Earlier that morning I doubt either of us were thinking this would be the perfect circumstance for a proper “catch-up”. However, here we were sitting on a backless piece of cement with a rain umbrella watching a quality tennis match and talking. It was the perfect place for a “catch-up.” We talked for over an hour. There was a little gossip, some intelligent tennis commentary and some life problems. No grand resolution, just a father and daughter connecting about their lives. In a world of school, running a household, maintaining a long-married relationship, and a moment for oneself; moments like this do not come along often. Therefore, they are to be acknowledged and treasured. Not for any other reason but to remind you of the love you share and the unique connection between parent and child. Yes, no matter how old you become, that relationship is always parent and child. It is the adult version which is the accumulation of all those moments for all those years. The adult version is the reward for being a quality parent – not perfect but quality. An unplanned moment that became a memory not to be forgotten but treasured.
Be prepared to embrace a spontaneous moment, even one spent sitting on cement in the hot sun. It might just be the perfect time. Life’s rewards aren’t always comfortable.
P.S. All of us won that day including Owen! 6-2,6-3)