From Shrek to Revered Elder
How a trip with my father made me see a different side of him
My father reminds me of the ogre Shrek: grumpy, ugly, impatient, looking to be left alone, but at the same time inordinately sweet, interesting, and self-assured.
These discordant qualities have become more pronounced as he’s gotten older, so that he’s now more annoying and needy, but at the same time funnier and more lovable.
For instance, on his latest dental checkup, he had a massive breakdown when the dentist recommended removing a sick molar. He was so beside himself that my mother called and begged me to accompany them to the oral surgeon that very day before my father had a chance to change his mind.
My mother and I had to hold his hand up until we were asked to leave the room for the extraction. My father asked so many questions you would’ve thought he was having a leg amputated. As we left, he proclaimed he would never go to the dentist again.
I had the fortune of sharing, once again, in my father’s drama two weeks later when I traveled with my parents and son to Caracas, Venezuela, where we’re from.
As soon as we got in the car to go to the airport, my father announced he was anxious, adding, “My sister’s in a nursing home and she doesn’t ever want to leave…
