my dad.
my dad called me at like, 3:30 to say he was on park avenue. so, i asked him if he would come by my office, and shockingly, he did. (for the first time in years.) he's in new york every single month for a meeting, and he NEVER visits or considers staying a night so we could hang out. remember i have another sister here too. and, it's generally within his means to do so.
but back to this particular visit. on the plus side, he said "i like your office," which is the most concrete affirmation i've gotten from him in awhile. on the other hand, when i asked him if he was coming to hartzveytik, which he'd said he might, he made it clear that it wasn't actually a real possibility. i felt stupid for having thought it was. oh, parents. the things you do to us.
i told him we'd been scheming about the 'shondes parents caucus,' since temim's parents are coming up from MARYLAND. he was extremely confused at the notion that someone's parents might come from another state to see their kid's band play, since just coming from upstate sounds insane to him. i mentioned that sometimes people's parents go to their concerts. i wasn't, you know, actually upset about it. i am 27 years old at this point, after all! but his response was so hilarious.
he said: "I went to your concert! I saw when you played saxophone in the band!" I was like, "huh? when i was 12?" i guess, of the 1.46 MILLION concerts i performed in as a child, one in particular stands out to him, since it was the *ONE* he attended and remembers. I was like "are you serious? THE TIME I played saxophone?" i spared him the "do you know how many concerts i have played?" reaction that first came to mind. i didn't list off honors i received when i was little... like all county chorus, city chorus, first chair in jazz band, first chair in concert band, and the number of concerts that went along with them. not to mention the years of piano recitals or the list of shows i've played since i've been, you know, in a successful indie rock band.
we spent our 40 minutes together before he went to the airport, approximately 2 hours early. i'm so glad he cares about me, genuinely. plus, i committed to him at high holidays this year, to work on not holding onto resentment. sigh. but sometimes, you just want your dad to say "hey. good job. that was good when you didn't die, and got a record deal. and stuff."
but back to this particular visit. on the plus side, he said "i like your office," which is the most concrete affirmation i've gotten from him in awhile. on the other hand, when i asked him if he was coming to hartzveytik, which he'd said he might, he made it clear that it wasn't actually a real possibility. i felt stupid for having thought it was. oh, parents. the things you do to us.
i told him we'd been scheming about the 'shondes parents caucus,' since temim's parents are coming up from MARYLAND. he was extremely confused at the notion that someone's parents might come from another state to see their kid's band play, since just coming from upstate sounds insane to him. i mentioned that sometimes people's parents go to their concerts. i wasn't, you know, actually upset about it. i am 27 years old at this point, after all! but his response was so hilarious.
he said: "I went to your concert! I saw when you played saxophone in the band!" I was like, "huh? when i was 12?" i guess, of the 1.46 MILLION concerts i performed in as a child, one in particular stands out to him, since it was the *ONE* he attended and remembers. I was like "are you serious? THE TIME I played saxophone?" i spared him the "do you know how many concerts i have played?" reaction that first came to mind. i didn't list off honors i received when i was little... like all county chorus, city chorus, first chair in jazz band, first chair in concert band, and the number of concerts that went along with them. not to mention the years of piano recitals or the list of shows i've played since i've been, you know, in a successful indie rock band.
we spent our 40 minutes together before he went to the airport, approximately 2 hours early. i'm so glad he cares about me, genuinely. plus, i committed to him at high holidays this year, to work on not holding onto resentment. sigh. but sometimes, you just want your dad to say "hey. good job. that was good when you didn't die, and got a record deal. and stuff."