Father--Daughter-Cat-Mouse-Bike Bonding

So for those of you who were unaware, my dad is in a wheelchair, and has been so for nearly 8 years, due to a broken neck after a fall from the attic staircase (people, check your homes--it's true what they say about accidents in the house.)


Anyway, this blog is not about that. This blog is about how much fun I've been having re-connecting with my dad. My mother is on a 2-week trip to Alaska, cruising and viewing glaciers and basically taking her first vacation in about 3 years. I am playing her role, giving care and cooking meals and scooping the cat litter and all that. I've done this for her a few times in the past (and have also traveled across country with the both of them a few times) but something clicked these past two weeks that I guess happens when parents and children reach a certain age.


Dad and I have a lot in common. The man who was once so soberly noncommunicative and the daughter who was once so incongruously dramatic have both found a middle ground. We have been having such an adventure these two weeks, plotting out bike routes on google satellite, setting off the generator with the circuit breaker, re-assembling old Comp USA hard drives, pimping his stander, and pimping my new bike (he was instrumental in my basket/rack assembly, the two of which were completely incompatible without some new hardware).

If you haven't met my new bike, by the way, heeeeeeere's Iggy!


And here's the aforementioned cat, Mr. C:


And here's the gift he left us this morning:


It's never a dull moment, being a housedaughter. It's been fun. Sincerely. And I'm sincerely looking forward to returning to my regular life. Things could have turned out very differently after the accident, and I am currently very grateful that dad and I (and Mr. C) have had this time together. That's a good feeling.