The Coolest People I Know

It only took 23 or so years for me to realize how truly amazing my parents are. Before moving to Thailand, all I wanted to do was get away from boring America, boring suburbia, boring parents. One of the things I learned in Thailand and through coming home is that life is only as boring as you let it become. My parents, who I once thought were the epitomy of predictability, are shining examples of people who have found contentedness in everyday life. Sure not every day is a breeze, but at the risk of my own "hip" reputation, these people are cool.

Now that my sisters and I are older, they have a lot more time to pursue their own interests. They've been married 32 years now and are still totally in love--they still hold hands people! They are obsessed with playing tennis. I would often call their house on a Friday evening to catch Emily home alone because Mom and Dad were out with their tennis team. My mom gardens, which is something I would have thought to be the most boring, suburbanite thing one could do back in my high school years. In the summer, they ride their bikes from Millard to Dundee (probably 10 to 15 miles) eat dinner at the Dundee Dell and ride home. They go skiing on vacation or canoe the Boundary Waters. And my dad is an amateur carpenter. He made the table pictured above and below with his own two hands and a few saws. He makes furniture. And not just any old furniture, really really nice furniture. Furniture I would never be able to afford. So far, he's made me a desk, bookcase and now this 6-foot-long dining room table. My parents' entire house is furnished probably 50 or 60 percent with stuff made by my dad. That is cool.