The eviler of two lessers

I love when things like this happen. My daughter got accepted to one of the key colleges that she is interested in attending yesterday and we were both elated.

Now, when something like this happens, you want to share the joy with people you love and, in cases like this, people who love my daughter. I called a couple of friends from Seattle because they both love her, get her, respect her and would want to hear the news.

I emailed a friend who was once a very close friend, but took a job overseas and now we only see one another when I am there or he is here.

Then I was faced with a philosophical issue. There are a couple of people whom I tend to think of as ships in the night. At one point they were important, important parts of this family and for one reason or another, they are no longer on the list. My instinct, in that moment of sublime happiness, was to share it with them.

Tangent - a decade or so ago I took part in a cycle ride across Montana to raise money for charity. There were over 1000 cyclists and I had trained hard for the ride. Every day I was tested and on most days I proudly finished grueling days in the hot sun and dusty roads in top shape. When the ride finished I checked into my hotel room, a physical wreck, but feeling deeply touched not only by the endurance nature of the ride, but the goodness of the adventure. Who should I call I thought. I wanted to share this moment, this life memory with someone. I called my ex-wife, who listened as I cried and shared key moments and told her of the adventure. She was sweet and caring and it was a glorious moment. To this day I am not sure why I called her, but I did and she was the perfect person to share that moment with.

So, in much the same situation last night, I was thinking of the people who would want to hear the news of college.

It really is her moment and I wanted my daughter to pick and choose who she tells and how. Possibly a facebook posting or something would suffice. I ended up not calling the two people whom I was sure would want to hear. Now, I did text one, because I was sure that even though we could not be called friends, we were once and that bridge had yet to be completely burned, although in my memory, is smolders. Funny thing, it appears the number was wrong or there was no interest.

The other person, I chose not to contact mostly because I feel as though, you know, let sleeping dogs lie.

These moments of trying to figure out how and why to contact eviler people are not easy, but they came and went in the blink of an eye. I focus instead on the glory of my daughter, a woman I love.