13. Jesus And His Disciples Come to Chico

“Sometimes you can live a whole lifetime in a day and never stop to realize that's as good as life gets.”  John Irving 

My sons visited me in Chico last weekend. It's the first time all three of them made the effort to be in this town with the sole objective of spending time with me.  Two of them are going to Bali for 30 days in July, so they scheduled a weekend with me to help compensate for the upcoming separation.  It marked a bit of a shift for me.

This was the first time the four of us were together where I didn't slip down a rabbit hole and rant about the injustices of the past.  Our focus was placed squarely on the present moment we shared, and the upcoming events in their lives.  It wasn't a conscious effort on my part so perhaps it was growth.  It felt that way to me.  As Aidan was preparing to leave he commented on how nice it was to see me on “my turf”.  It was the kind of observation Jesus might make, so it's fitting that with his long curly hair he resembles Christ.  

I’m not an outsider here.  I’m not seen through historical perspective, or familial bias, or false narratives.  I’m accepted and appreciated.  There is no reason to recount events from other places when the present space you occupy is created from objectivity and truth.  My sons now have a reference point that can be juxtaposed to what they witnessed in Aptos.  They now know, with absolute certainty, that if I'm allowed to stand outside of bias and prejudice, I'm embraced.   

Growth.