MerrinDonahue.com

We ran over to Tampa tonight to have dinner with my Dad, who flew in tonight for a meeting tomorrow morning. For those familiar with the DFW metroplex, that’s pretty much how close Orlando and Tampa are (although I have a feeling that O-Town and Tampa residents feel like their respective cities are really far apart, but by Texas standards, they’re a stone’s throw). When I talked to my Dad on Sunday and he mentioned that he would be in the area today, I was all about “Hey, we can drive over and have dinner” (again, people really have no clue just how close the two cities are; it took us just over an hour to drive from our front door to the Tampa airport).

I’m so glad we did. I’ve adjusted quite well to living outside of Texas (which will, of course, always be home). I even like it here (which I totally did not expect). But other than when my Dad flew in when Kev had his heart attack, I haven’t seen him in almost a year. We had my Mom out for a week at Christmas, and we had my little sister here a week or so ago, but every now and then, a girl needs her Dad. And it sure was nice to see him tonight.