Memories of my father

I'm not sure why, but this week I've been thinking about my dad.  I'm traveling this week, and I'm in Las Vegas for a conference.  Part of the time I'm thinking how different I am from my dad, and part of the time I'm thinking about how much I am the same as my dad.

When I'm standing in front of the giant mirror in the bathroom of my hotel room, and I've just slathered a ton of gel in my hair to keep it in place in this super-dry climate, and as I'm picking up the blow dryer to force my hair into place for the day, that's when I think I'm most like my dad.  I don't bother with this morning ritual at home where a quick spray of gel and comb through will do, but when I'm traveling I generally don't have the right gel or the weather isn't agreeable with my hair, and it takes a hair dryer to tame my hair into place.

My dad had this daily ritual in the bathroom, which if you lived in our family, you'd probably wonder why my dad spent so much time in the bathroom in the morning.  But being so much like my own dad, being able to reflect back on my life, I know exactly why it took him so long to get ready in the morning.

My dad was thin, as thin as I was when I was younger.  I mean really thin, with zero percent body fat.  He was about the same height as I am we both barely tipped the scale at 120 lbs in our prime.  Even Lauren seems to have inherited this trait, as she's super thin, so much so that I have to take in the waist on every pair of pants that we buy her.

My dad started his  bathroom ritual by turning on a little portable heater we kept in the bathroom.  I always remember thinking I thought it was dangerous to have a portable heater in the bathroom, but in all the years he had it, we never had a problem.  He'd turn it on long before he even stepped into the bathroom.  And it had to do with how thin he was.  With no body fat, after a shower, you'd instantly freeze, so the only way to avoid feeling cold, which was the thing he hated most, he made sure the room was about body temperature before he started his shower.  Lauren and I hate how cold we are after a shower as well.  She always says she's freezing.

And of course once you're in the shower, you never want to leave, especially knowing you'll feel ice cold the minute you step out.  My dad took long showers, and so does Lauren.  I guess I'm pretty understanding on this front, since I was always told to hurry up my showers as a kid, and I always dreamed about being able to take long showers.

Then after the shower, my dad would warm up in front his little heater, while doing the rest of his morning ritual, which included putting a ton of gel in his hair, and blow drying it in place for a good 10 to 15 minutes.  By the time he was done, there was no way that hair was going anywhere.  Standing under a hair dryer is one of Lauren's favorite things after a shower.  Not, necessarily to dry her hair, but to have the warm air flow over her.

So standing in front of the big mirror in my hotel room, hair dryer in one hand, comb in the other, and a ton of gel slathered in my hair, I can't help but think about my dad and how much I'm like him.