daddy's girl

i went out to dinner and then to see a preview of "The Namesake" on tuesday with my dad.

my dad is the VP if IAGB (Indian Assoc. of Greater Boston) and has been pretty involved for the last 5 or 6 years. he has numerous contacts and a lot of people just recognize him (when he had the accident before the wedding, the person who called the ambulance was walking his dog and recognized him in the car). So new Mira Nair movie means lots of Indians in the audience; some people he knew as friends and some he just recognized.

he immediately turned on, yelling names and making jokes and directing people to empty seats. he made sure everyone he knew knew he was there and that he knew they were there. my social butterfly of a father.

while i was watching him i realized i am exactly the same. it started in high school and culminated during senior year of college. i had to be on the inside list, i had to be part of the planning committee, i had to make sure i said hello to everyone i knew in the campus center, in the library, at the party, so they knew i was there and that i knew they were there and that i was acknowledged. only until after the whole mess and depression of senior year and the happiness in nyc with people who actually liked me did i start to let that go.

don't get me wrong, i still need that validation, i still love to host, and i still need to know that people like me. but i have also started letting it go when they don't.

it was odd seeing your own flaws in your parents. really put things in perspective.