Like Father, Like Daughter

My father is an early riser, he always has been. I cannot remember a day when Dad wasn't up before the family, and often times was off to work before we were even thinking about getting out of bed. As a child I couldn't understand why anyone would want to get up early if the opportunity to sleep in and stay snuggled in your bed presented itself. It seemed like madness, complete and utter madness. Mornings were for the birds, the bugs, and other things that could nap on and off throughout the day without penalty, like our cat.

Fast forward about 15 years. I am now in my mid twenties. I have a house of my own and "visit" my parents, rather than live with them. We would spend the day together enjoying memories of the days past, and would be off be off to bed well past the double digit hours. It was during this time that the oddest pehnomenon took place. I found myself waking up early, and not just the normal "6 a.m." before work early, no that would be too normal. No this was a before the sun comes up, are you seriously awake, what the hell, 3 a.m. kind of early. INSANITY!

I would wander downstairs to find Dad sitting on the couch enjoying his coffee in the silence. While one might think Dad would find my internal clock's new time zone a disruption to his morning communion with his thoughts. He welcomed the time together. Just us. Dad and Daughter. We would talk about work, relationships, people, places, memories, .... life. It is during this time I grew to see my Dad as more than just the bossy guy who "made" me mow the lawn - which admittedly I only did about 6 times in my entire teenage life - but rather a critical component to the core of our family. He, like my mother, believes in the strength of family more than anything else on earth.

As I have matured so too have our early morning conversations. I have come to realize that my Dad was not an idiot, that he DID know what he was talking about and that I do NOT know it all - I know, I know .... This is shocking! Dont take it too hard. I, myself, am still getting over the shock, and trust me when I say it will take a little while to absorb, grieve, and come to accept the fact that parents know more about life than their children. Understanding when to capture a moment and turn it into a ritual that becomes a fundamental part of who we are is a parents job. It is this gift - knowing what our children need, even if it is not articulated or requested - that parents never cease to give their children.

Sometimes we welcome the opportunity to become our parents ...