Two important life lessons I learned from spending an hour at the local Starbucks with my dad.

A Chinese Canadian story that crosses 4 generations, spanning from Hong Kong to Canada.

It’s Friday morning and I’m at my parents’ house working on my blog. My dad’s downstairs doing his thing.

My dad’s a routine guy.

Every Friday, he wakes up at the crack of dawn, has a small bite to eat (usually oatmeal or bread), goes on the treadmill while watching the Chinese morning news, takes a shower, drops a deuce, heads out for coffee, comes home to grab my mom to have dim sum and buy groceries.

Like clockwork…

He’s the early bird and my mom’s the night owl.

Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones or the fact that I’m having a son…but that day, I felt a need to get to know my dad. So I decided to ask him if I could join him for coffee.

Well, that probably sounds easy if your dad’s frickin’ Danny Tanner.

***HUGS***

My dad and I are like oil and water. Deciding to emulsify that relationship gave me all sorts of anxiety.

“How should I ask him?

What should I say?”

“When should I ask? Before his shower? After his shower? While he’s on the treadmill? When he’s about to go out?”

I’m a grown-ass woman who is secure with her feelings, shows vulnerability and asks for what she wants; however, when it comes to my parents, I still struggle, reverting back to a teenaged version of myself.

Instead of saying,

“Dad, I want to spend some time with you. Let’s go for coffee.”

I ask him,

“Where are you going for coffee? I haven’t had mine yet. Can I come with you to get it?”