A Girl and Her Dad

I rarely mention my dad here, but I really do owe a lot to that man because despite the ups and downs this family has faced in the last 10 years, he's there as soon as you need him. He's worked incessantly my whole life - and still does - but he's always made time for friends, for bedside visits or to drive two hours to help a stressed-out college freshman get through her first architecture project. (I should've known that was a doomed course from the start.)

He'll call 5,000 times a day and bug the hell out of me, but I secretly love that he can quickly sense when something's off and swing by for a visit. Last night he came over, bearing goodies from his grocery store, and we talked about randomness for a while: lunch, work and how important it is to save money for the future because you need to plan and have goals and blah blah blah. And even though his big kid antics are borderline annoying at times, they eventually get a smile out of me.

"You know," he started off in Spanish, "I'm really proud of the things I've accomplished. I became a citizen while knowing very little English, managed to get my own business and I have two successful daughters." [We're still working on the younger brother.]

"I don't know how you people pass that citizenship test," I muttered over my laptop screen. "That study guide is full of topics I've learned and forgotten three times over by now. Did they make you name all the Supreme Court justices and list every president?"

"Nah, they only asked a couple simple questions. What colors are on the flag? Name a few of the first states..."

"And it was all verbal?! Dad, what if you made a mistake?"

"It wasn't hard. Then they made you write out a sentence in English. I still remember it."

"Ay Dios, what was it?"

And with a giant grin he squiggles at the air in front of him and triumphantly says, "Today is cloudy."

Really.