WHEN YOUR PARENTS MOVE AWAY

So Covid-19, you suck. Everything about what you’ve been trying to prove, you’ve proven. People dying, business’ collapsing, the whole world in a state of panic.  Congrats. We are all one big hot mess and nobody knows what they’re doing. And now, mom and dad have gone to Hawaii. Sigh.

Well, in upworthy news, my parents, yes, the happy couple I preach about daily, they got fed up with Covid and they left California. They are not gone permanently thank you Jesus, but they are still in fact gone. They moved to Hawaii. And honestly, I’m scared they’ll never come back.

For a lot of reasons, at this very moment, I feel like I could bitch and moan about the key factors in the demise of our country, our globe and everything surrounding it since this pandemic began, but instead I’m going to sprinkle a little sugar into your dreary day. Because, everyone needs a little sugar in their life and today is my Dad’s birthday, so here goes.

My parents, Lynne and Roland, jumped ship. They left their beloved California in the middle of a pandemic to stay in Kauai (Hawaii). And yes, indefinitely. 

How does one feel about this massive change of heart from my Mom and Dad?

Devastated. They are now more than 5 thousand miles away from me and my precious family and I’m selfishly, a little pissed. 

But not really. I can’t be. And here’s the big colossal why.

When your parents move away, it’s sort of the big hurrah in life you’ve been wondering about (if you will). A coming of age. An “I’m living my life and you can’t do a thing about it.” Also an “I’m going to go where I’m happy and see how that feels, considering it’s the apocalypse.” 

And so they went.

And they have never been happier. 

What?

But what about us? Your kids? Your grandkids? Your house? Your friends? Your entire life?

Reality check.

This is their life.

And well folks, they’re living it.

I wish I could say I’m pissed and I’ll never get over it. But here’s the deal. The truth is this.

I’m so incredibly happy for them.

Their dream has been to retire in Hawaii since I don’t know when. 

The dream has been spoken into our hearts for decades and decades and they finally upped and did it. 

In the middle of a global pandemic. 

Crazy. But if you follow me and my journey and you know the insurmountable love between my parents and equally, their love for us, you know how happy these people are. 

They just ooze it. And especially when they are in their happy place.

Kauai is that place.

They are there indefinitely. They’ll be back to California for sure, but I see the time slipping away.

The clock is ticking and my children are growing and I can’t help but contemplate…when your parents move away, is it suddenly that tangible time in life that you can’t get back?

Because we all know they’re not getting any younger. 

Is this the beginning of the end?

Not as in death, but as in, is time slipping away even faster than we know it?

I don’t know. I don’t seem to know anything anymore. This pandemic has seen the grimace of every person known to man including me. And yet, it’s not slowing down.

And so Mom and Dad have flown away into the place they know as paradise to live their life according to their own rules.

And good for them. Especially today on my Dad’s birthday, all I can think is, he’s happy and he’s done it his way.

My Grandpa (Dad’s dad), use to sing Sinatra’s “I did it my way”.

And I never truly understood the lyric until now. 

“I’ve lived a life that’s full

I’ve traveled each and every highway

and more, much more than this

I did it my way.”

(Suddenly I cry a little on my keyboard.)

Woah. Ok. It’s all coming to me now. And it’s pretty profound too.

Suddenly I realize, it’s all ok. Everything is going to be ok. That’s why God has babies grow. The cycle continues and we evolve and that’s the way it’s supposed to be. 

And people move away.

But I’m only human and I have to say, being in Tennessee in the middle of a pandemic with my heart on the other side of the pacific ocean makes me a little weepy.

But the lesson here is this. When your parents move away and they are happier than they’ve ever been, they deserve it and all of it and then some.

And if anything, it shows the beauty of letting go, while holding on to your loved one for dear life, the way those two have since day one.

Mom and Dad, you are goals and I’m so happy for you. 

And perhaps Hawaii 2021 is in our cards. 

Save me a beach chair and pina colada. Aloha. Happy birthday Daddy and I love you.