They Trained Me Well

It's official. I have been living out east for two years (Easter sets 2-year mark). Sometimes it seems like much longer seeing that during these past two years I have moved to yet another city and job, gained a nephew, been through several relationships (short-lived obviously), seen my father's condition worsen quite considerably, and basically solidified my future plans. Even though it has only been two, it has felt like five. I'm a bit worried because five is the magic number; that is, if Plan B doesn't have to come into action (Plan B: my father condition gets close to endpoint I head back to MN ASAP). Plan A involves me considering my next move on my five year anniversary. Yes, I'm a planner. How could you tell?

As I am becoming more aquainted with Philadelphia I have found to have a love-hate relationship with it. Some days I find myself loathing it but then I think of moving and well, I freak out and and I grasp onto it like a frightened little child. Perhaps I just know I cannot handle the stress of moving again at this moment. Perhaps it's some of the people that I have latched onto and the fact that my best friends in DC are still just a hop, skip and a jump away from me. Or maybe it's because I love my job too much and don't want to lose the awesome challenges/opportunities that it has given me. I love the thrill of not knowing a place or its people. I love the challenge of being the 'newbie' in groups. It gives me that 'different' vibe and people get to know me by me only. The only association they can give me is the fact that I'm originally from MN or I was raised a farm kid.....which I'm darn proud of both.

The great thing about my two year mark was that my parents were here [in PHL] to help me celebrate. I hosted Easter for them....yes, I PLANNED and MADE an Easter dinner. We had fresh cut veggies, dinner rolls, CK special salad, marmalade glazed ham, baked mashed potatoes and a layered lemon pound cake topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. The only thing I didn't make from scratch was the dinner rolls. I was pretty darn proud of myself and my mother and I both took pics of the food. Sad, but very true. At one point during our meal my mother looked over to my father and said, "All of those years of trying to domesticate her and it paid off!" My fathers' response, "Finally." (And all of those years I'd get mad at them for saying that they needed to domesticate me.....and I end up loving Martha Stewart...go figure).

Even though my father has become quite lethargic and needed to sleep a good portion of his visit I am still happy that he came. It will more than likely be the only time he comes out east to see me and I'm coming to realize that's okay. I just hope he knows that I love him just as much now as I did years ago when he was the father I will remember not the man who has taken my father on....leaving him a completely different man. Damn you MS. But thank you God for letting me have my father as long as I have and for a bit longer.