Last week, Naomi and her boyfriend, Jeremiah, came up from New York to visit. She just graduated from Nyack College in Nyack, New York and is working at IHOP while she gets resumes out for a job in her field of youth and family services. It has been a rough month for her as the lease on her apartment ended, and the place she and some friends thought they could rent together didn't work out. While she referred to herself as 'homeless' for that less-than-24-hour period, that was a bit of dramatic hyperbole. She didn't lack for friends to stay with, and of course, there's always mom and dad's house. She and Jeremiah are now both staying at a friend's house now as they try to figure out what happens next. I'm realizing that parenting adult kids might be the hardest part of being a dad. I can coach her, but she is now the one who has to work through these decisions. Then I remembered how hard it was for me to be a single 20 something, but more importantly, I remembered all that I learned and all the ways I grew in the process. As our parish priest from my childhood often said, "It will all work out."
The visit started with me picking them up at the Portland Greyhound station. This gave me a chance to ask them about their future plans professionally, as well as relationship-wise. We also talked about how the apartment searches were going and, most importantly, how things were going spiritually for them. Naomi and I always were able to talk about anything and everything, and it was a very nice drive out of the city and back to the small town of Bridgton, where life started for Naomi 21 years ago.
Once we got home, the real fun began. Tammy, a long time friend and one of Naomi's former camp counselors, has been staying with us, and she can turn any day into a party! We played games, joked, told stories, relived old stories we've all heard a thousand times before, and just plain enjoyed a sweet reunion. Naomi's younger sister, Rose, loved having her sister home. She and Jeremiah love to double team Naomi and playfully pick on her. In our family, we call this peasocking, which is an adaptation of the German verb piesacken, which means to badger. Rose is so good at this because she learned it well from Naomi peasocking her over the years. Then, part way through the afternoon, our oldest girl, Jo, skyped with us. It wasn't long before Jeremiah, Sue and I faded into the background, and the four girls chattered like girls at a slumber party.
The next day, Naomi specifically requested that Uncle Gene and Aunt Barb be invited over. Barb and Gene are not really her aunt and uncle, but they are some of our closest friends from the past 25 years. Barb is a pancreatic cancer survivor - something so rare that a doctor friend of mine calls that phrase an oxymoron, and Barb's doctors call it a miracle. They joined the party for a cookout and the most intense game of charades ever played.
Too early the next day Naomi and Jeremiah headed back to Nyack, this time driving Sue's car. Since Sue and I are both teachers, now that summer is here we don't need two vehicles for a while. Sue's car is a sturdy little Hyundai that we can trust to serve her well until we can help her get her own vehicle later in the summer.
As they pulled out of our driveway, I realized that the three days were exactly what they were supposed to be. It doesn't get any better than that.