“What time do you need to be there?”
“In two days. It’s thirteen hours away.”
He winced, “Wanted to get far away, didn’t you?”
I bit my bottom lip and nodded.
The truth hurt.
But a lie... it hurt so much more.
He nodded.
“Okay, well, I’ll uhh... I’ll work on things. Okay. Can you... if...” he sighed, then shook his head and turned on his heel and started to walk away.
I closed my eyes, then inhaled a long breath, and called out, “Dad? What?”
He stopped, then turned his head and looked at me. I watched as he took in a breath and said, “If you would let me know when you graduate, I’d like to be there.”
I nodded, “Get the help you need. Then we will see.”
He nodded.
Then I watched as he walked back into the trailer.
I looked up one last time at the sun and smiled.
This was my new start. My new outlook on life.
And I was going to make the most of it.
***
Sure, what I had set out to do had been daunting on my first day of classes.
But I was stubborn.
Therefore, I stuck it out.
I hadn’t known what I wanted to do years ago. But when I watched a movie, something in it had resonated inside of me.
And that something had made me smile.
And I knew, I knew that if I could help others who had sacrificed for their country... it would make the years I had to study worth it.
***
And that was why, as I sat in my chair at our graduating ceremony six years later, with a dual degree for not only a Physical Therapist but also an Occupational Therapist with a minor in Massage Therapy, I had a smile on my face.
I had done it.
And yes, other than my friends, I had two people here.
One of them had changed his lifethat day.
He had gotten the help he needed, and then... he had stopped drinking.
Cold turkey.
