visit with my dad

yup, you read that right...elise got to meet my dad! he called last saturday (after i had missed two calls earlier!) to say that he was in town and wanted to have lunch with us on sunday, along with my aunt rosemarie and uncle bob. what a surprise, to say the least! so we had lunch with them after church and then hung out at uncle bob's house the rest of the afternoon, watching football, catching up, and playing with elise.

it took me a little while to process the emotions of the whole event. it had been over four years since i last saw him, and to anticipate seeing him again on such short notice made me excited and nervous all at the same time. it was a battle between having huge expectations and no expectations. how would he be with her? what would he think of her? how would he be with me? would we have enough to talk about?

in the end, it was so good to see him. i am amazed that no matter how much time goes by, there is still that connection in my heart with him that tells me we're close. we can still joke about the same things we could always joke about. and the emotion that stayed with me was thankfulness. i am thankful elise got to meet my dad. i am thankful and happy that he called to even let me know he was in town. i am thankful for the hugs he gave me...and her. i am thankful that i got to watch him watch her intently, play with her, and let her tug his beard. and even if it never happens again, they got to meet once, and for that i am grateful.