An Unforgettable Moment

This trip to New York City turned out to be more unforgettable than I could have ever imagined. New York City has a special place in my heart but this just brought it to a whole new level.

At the very last minute, I wrote to my father on my phone as we were heading to New York and I could never have even imagined that that Facebook message would lead to me seeing him for the first time in ten years only a few hours later. We hadn’t even spoken on the phone in ten years.

It was the second time that I’ve ever seen him outside of a photograph in my entire life. The elevator ride down to the lobby took forever. It was like going back in time emotionally as I waited for the elevator to get to the lobby. Almost as if I was seventeen again in a hoody and jeans again but transforming into my adult self in a dress and heels walking out to meet him ten years later.

It was pouring outside and naturally taxis and people were everywhere. When he arrived and sent me a text message that he was waiting out front and I realized we were both standing out front – I started looking in all of the taxis up and down the street. Confused, I turned around and there he was- just standing there.

I know that Father’s Day is supposed to be about giving gifts to your father, but I felt like this was almost like a gift from my father to me. I just kept saying “Keep it together. You’re all grown up” but there was that little girl inside me that kept telling me “I just want to hug him”. Well, I got my wish.

What a blessing. I don’t know when or if I’ll see him again but I know this much – this trip to New York City is now a completely unforgettable memory that will be with me forever.

I thank God for hearing my prayers. I guess it’s true that He always hears us. He just knows when the right time is and this was it and I guess I see the irony in the fact that I had to be in Times Square for that time to come.