I got up way earlier than I even knew existed that morning; he was in a suit and I tried to pick my most grown up outfit. It was a big day, with at least an hour ahead of us to get to work. I felt like a grown up sitting in the passenger seat beside my dad enjoying the ride in the rush hour traffic with the rest of the adults, did I just say ENJOY RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC?! yes, I think I did. I laid my head on the seat belt strap and rested while nervously anticipating the day ahead. We were listening to a morning talk show and I couldn’t understand why a TALK SHOW on the radio, but I convinced myself it’s just what grown ups do. And that was my job for the day, experience the life of my father as a grown up, for a day.
As my mom came in and woke me, she gently whispered, Megan it’s six thirty, you don’t want to be late. I drove over to his house, picked him up and off we went for the long morning commute. He was sitting in the passenger seat with his tired head resting against the seat belt and I asked him if he was nervous. He said no, just ready to get it all over with, and I couldn’t agree more. We sat in silence among all the hundreds of cars rushing to work, and in the background a morning talk show. I couldn’t help but wish that the roles would have been reversed like that morning sixteen some years ago, but this has become the new grown up me, taking my father to the hospital for surgery. Something, I never wished to experience.
I cried as I left him there alone for the evening and couldn’t wait for him to be released the next day. It had been a rough couple of days for him, so I decided he needed some cheering up, thus commencing OPERATION CHEER DAD UP.
OPERATION CHEER DAD UP from Megan Beth on Vimeo.
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