Daddy

I picked him up at the RTD Denver International Airport Train Station off of 40th Street. It was one of those pickups where Google’s directions don’t match up with the facts. We finally connected, a hipster with appropriate beard and backpack hopped in my back seat. It was about a 10 minute ride to his home which was just north of City Park. Withoutprompting he said “I used to live downtown. My rent was $850 for a studio. I came back three years later and the same place was $1650. So I found a duplex out here. I loved living downtown but who can afford it”? We began chit chat about the current state of disarray in our world. I made my assessment of who he was— self absorbed millennial—.

We pulled up to the curb by his home and little girl who looked about five came running down the sidewalk. She jumped up in his arms and yelled out “Daddy you’re finally home. I missed you so much”! Yes, my emotions came to the surface. I was beyond happy for the two of them and I went deep into my memory bank about not just reunions with my kids, but how it felt to see my dad’s white ‘53 Chevy pickup come down Alexander Circle. The deepest human need is connection. The deepest human fear is loss of belonging.

I was 100% wrong about this 30-something. My assumptions melted as I watched this daddy swing his little girl around and around. If I give 10 Lyft rides in an afternoon I will almost always find myself saying “What a gift it was to share a bit in this person’s day”. I think I will call my kids today.

Onward and Upward, Mark