My daughter Rachel, who’s been working in Canada for the last sixteen months, twelve days, 22 hours and thirty two minutes, is currently on vacation in the USA with her boyfriend.
A lass who always tries to integrate with her hosts, Rach will spend her time in the States striving to fit in with the locals by doing American type things. As I write, she’s probably sitting in a diner ordering eggs over easy, or in a deli asking for pastrami on rye. Or at least she would be if it wasn’t currently around 1 am Pacific Standard Time.
Last we heard from our daughter she was Montana in situ with her boyfriend – A location where my youngest offspring fulfilled a long held dream. This aspiration to visit the north western US state bizarrely borne from a teenage years love affair with TV drama CSI:NY. You won’t be shocked to hear Rachel wasn’t in the top geography set at school.
When I say love affair above, I’m referring to Rachel being a big fan of the US show. Not that she dated the programme broadcast by CBS; which would be a ludicrous notion. She’d never have cheated on a boyfriend with a slickly shot crime scene investigation drama.
Before my daughter and her partner return to the ‘Land of the Maple Leaf’, Rach hopes to visit Yellowstone Park to witness where ABC sitcom ‘Joanie & Chachi’ was set. If time permits she plans wants a trip to Montana’s Glacier National Park; confiding in me prior the vacation her motivation behind this visit being “I’ve always wanted to see the leaning tower, dad!”
Rachel doesn’t possess the most in depth of geographical knowledge, however the lass has a good heart…… It goes with her good gall bladder and two good kidneys I donated after losing a bet……. Luckily I had three (kidneys that is)
Hopefully you can learn from my foolishness of betting your daughter (or indeed anyone) they couldn’t con you into donating two kidneys. To add salt to my wounds she didn’t actually need them as, despite her boozy weekends in her late teens, hers worked perfectly well. However, she always demands you settle your losing bets.
Anyhow, enough of this nonsense. Organ donation and transplant surgery is not a topic that should be discussed in a whimsical fashion. It should remain as a subject for the operating table, not aired among the daily natter from a kitchen table.
I really miss Rachel. Bereft of her enchanting smile, the positivity of her outlook on life, her pragmatic approach to problems, along with her binge watching CSI:NY and Joanie & Chachi on Netflix, life in chez Strachan just isn’t the same.
The heartache of not seeing our daughter for sixteen months, twelve days, 22 hours and thirty two minutes only reconciled by the fact she’s creating numerous memories to take with her through her life.
Skydiving, bobsleighing, white water rafting, caving and the wrath of her mum (on Facetime) after Rach told her she was wrong about something, just a few of the adrenaline boosting dangers she’s exposed herself to during this time.
Most importantly, though, I rue the fact it’s sixteen months, twelve days, 22 hours and thirty two minutes since I had a standing full bloodied argument!
