September 14, 2010

Well I did it.  I pulled off a surprise for my dad today.  It WAS going to be a surprise for both my parents but I needed to let Mom in on it.  Their dear friend from Dad's Forest Service days, MaryPat, was flying from Boston to St Louis and had a 3 hour layover in, of all places, Milwaukee!  MaryPat and I chat all the time and I told her that since she had the layover, how about I bring Mom and Dad to the airport for coffee and to see her!

Boy was dad surprised!  He was soooo happy to see her.  He had this huge smile on his face all morning.  And still does.  It truly was a great time and I got to meet her face-to-face for the first time.  MaryPat we love you!  It was so great to see you.
It wasn't easy getting Dad to get up that early and get in the truck and then face the rush hour traffic of Milwaukee.  In fact, he HATES traffic.  But he was a trooper and didn't say anything.  It took us a little while to get there but when we did, it was great.
MaryPat was getting off the plane and then we told dad, "We aren't here to pick anyone up today.  We lied about that just as an excuse to get you to the airport...but don't worry, we aren't putting you on a plane today".  "We told him we brought him there to meet someone special today.  We didn't tell him who but about 2 minutes later, up the ramp walks MaryPat.  Dad almost fell over he was so surprised.

Life  is all about making memories.  It is what we have when all else is gone.  Each and everyday of our life we have the opportunity to make a great memory for ourselves and for our loved ones and sometimes even for a stranger.
So keep the camera handy all the time - and look for those chances to make a memory.  Because when all that is left behind is a cosmic whisper - we will still have our memories.