A Step Back to Childhood

I am a 33-year-old married woman who is currently living in her father's basement, playing D&D and Magic the Gathering on weekends. At a glance, you may question my life choices, but let me take a minute to explain my story to you and how I came to be a full-grown adult living in my father's basement.

To make a long story short, my husband and I moved across the country two years ago from Michigan to California. After spending a year in the golden state, we decided to build a school bus into a tiny home and live out our dreams of traveling the country. We took off on our adventure in June of 2021, and a short month and a half later, our dog got sick and had to have emergency surgery at 2:00 am in California, which essentially drained our bank account of the travel money we had saved up for the next six months. We weren't sure what we wanted to do at this point or where to temporarily settle down again while we saved back up our money.

What we did know was that we could always count on my dad. Our original plan was to crash at dad's house for a couple of months to work full time before we took off again, traveling in our bus. Nine months later, we are still occupying my dad's basement while we plan our next travel adventure.

When we first asked my father if we could come to stay at the house for a few months while we got back on our feet, he was more than happy to host us. We didn't want to overstay our welcome, but when my husband got a chance to take a 9-month contract job that would open up travel and work opportunities for us in the future, we couldn't pass up the offer.

We were nervous about extending our stay, but my dad was happy to have us. The last nine months have given me time with my dad that I didn't get in my childhood. We have had a chance to sit down and have many dinners together, binge-watch our favorite shows, engage in meaningful conversations, and even have a few heated disagreements. My father has had a chance to spend time and bond with my husband and form a connection with the son-in-law he never had since I was an only child.

You see, I am a child of divorce, and once my parents split up, I didn't get much time with my dad because my mom and I had moved two hours away. He went from a full-time father to a weekend father, but that didn't stop him from spending almost every weekend driving up to spend time with me. Either driving 4 hours round trip to take me out to lunch, or when I got older, giving me driving lessons for the weekend out in the woods.

Every few years, we would also take an epic trip together, or my dad would drag me along on a work trip that he was taking. One year we went to New York City and explored the bright lights and big city, including taking pictures with multiple versions of less than adequate spider-men along the streets. Another year I tagged along on a cruise ship with his other business associates. We explored the ports of call and partied it up in Mexico, taking far too many shots. We cruised along the Mexican road in off-road ATVs and made memories that will last a lifetime. Another year we went out to Pahrump, Nevada, for my dad to attend a professional corvette driving school while I hiked Death Valley. The day after, we took a short drive to Las Vegas, where he taught me how to play craps, and we wandered the crazy streets taking in the culture until all hours of the night.

Over the years, I haven't spent as much time with my father as I would have wanted, but we have always made our time together count. He has always shown up and has always been there for me. He has been selfless beyond belief, giving my husband and me a safe place to stay while we figure out our next move in life.

The definition of a father is different for everyone. For me, it is the unconditional love and unwavering support that makes my dad a great father.