A Visit with my Dad

I saw my dad yesterday. He was in Philadelphia for a conference, and I was scheduled to be in Cherry Hill (which is 20 minutes away) for a party anyway, so we managed to connect for a couple hours. I typically see my father in Alabama about once a year. We speak on the phone a couple times a week, but because of our geographical distance, we aren't especially close. I picked my dad up from his hotel and we found a coffee shop to sit and chat. He asked me a bout my life - school, work, dating, etc. He told me about all my brothers and my step-brothers, and what was going on with them. He told me about his conference that he was attending with people that he has worked with for the past 30-something years (even longer than I have been alive!). It's weird for me to think that my dad has a 28-year-old daughter. First, because that means I'm 28 and I certainly don't feel more than about 21 most of the time (except when I'm paying my bills). And second, because that makes my dad old enough to have a 28-year-old child (and he wasn't 20 when I was born). So I kind of looked at him with new eyes, I saw his grey hair, his wrinkles. I think, because I don't see him so often, I still picture him in my mind much younger. But the clock doesn't stop ticking just because you are gone. We then went back to his hotel and he introduced me to a bunch of his colleagues. I met people he has worked with and people he has trained over the years. It was kind of weird when I met a woman my father had trained, about my age, who was just going on and on about how great my dad was. It's sometimes hard to see that stuff when you are family. We finally found my step-mom and chatted with her for a few minutes before my dad had to join his conference. I managed to be nice. All in all, it was nice seeing my dad. I told him that next time he was in the Northeast, he should stay for an extra day so we could really spend some time together. But I guess I'll take what I can get for now.