Father Daughter Love.

How often do you look at a person and wonder what their life is like? Do you ever wonder if they’re happy, or if the smile they wear on their face is just an act. Do you ever think deeper and wonder what their life is like behind all the smiles and laughs? Maybe certain people you see day to day have really hard lives back home, maybe they have an eating disorder, maybe their parents are going through a nasty divorce, maybe their father is homeless. I often don’t take the time to think about these things, today changed that for me, as I saw one of my best friends go on a search for her father. Early in the morning she got a text from her mother saying that her father had been hit by a car, it takes quite the toll on you to hear something like that. She hadn’t seen her father in quite awhile so she wanted to go see him; we hopped in the car and drove out to see him.

On our way we were told that he walked out of the hospital and no one could find him, I felt in my heart that we were going to see her father that day, so we continued on our journey. When we arrived in Riverside we began our search, we spotted two shopping carts filled with stuff, and soon found out they belonged to her father, Jesse. We continued on our search, and just as we were losing hope we spotted him, walking down the street with a new shopping cart. We immediately pulled over and overcome with emotion we said a quick prayer and headed out to greet him. My friend although timid, was filled with a comfort joyous look… she found her daddy. I stood there in awe as this courageous girl approached her father and introduced herself, “Hi Jesse, do you remember me? It’s Andrea, your daughter.” Taken aback his face softened, “Hi Mija, how are you?” My eyes filled up with tears as I watched this, how can an eighteen year old girl be so strong? How is it fair for a child to have to tell their father who they are? This moment was special; I was honoured to be a witness of it.

As we walked on towards his carts I walked behind, watching and thinking. I though of Jesse and how he may have use to be, once upon a time he married a wonderful woman, they exchanged vows and together they created four beautiful children. I wonder how he came to be this way. I wonder if he ever thinks about the way things use to be and want to go back, I wonder if he has regrets, or is he truly happy. When we reached our destination we each grabbed hold a cart and pushed them to a new location. It was quite a neat experience, three of us in a line, pushing carts loaded with belongings. As people in their cars sat and watched us, I wonder what was going through their minds, would they ever think that maybe that man is one of the girls father? We reached Jesse’s usual place and soon my friend’s mother and aunt arrived. They surrounded Jesse and my friend prayed that moment was both powerful and emotional.

As I listened to the prayers I was overcome with emotion, so much of this situation didn’t make sense to me, yet this girl who had been through eighteen years of it was so tough and so strong. Shortly after praying, they said their goodbyes, which was the hardest part of the whole day, because once again it got me thinking… when will she see her father again? When will she talk to him? What will bring her to him again? From this entire experience I have been inspired, this girl, Andi, is one of the strongest people I have ever met, one of the toughest girls I have ever met. She brings hope to people; she has this peace about this situation which many people would never understand. I admire her for that, I am so honoured to call this girl my friend.