Is there a better bet than love?

Dad and I sat at our kitchen table tonight for almost 2 hours. Everyone else was out and about, so we decided to just sit down and talk for awhile.

I felt grown up, I'm not going to lie.

Maybe it was that I was drinking a beer with my dad.

Maybe it's because I still feel the 21 euphoria.

Maybe it's a little of both.

More so though, I think I'm feeling more grown up, at least in my relationship with my dad these days, because we've grown closer. After everything with Lance, it's like God has brought a new appreciation for each other in our family. Dad and I have spent so much time together this break, and I have learned a lot about my dad. I can talk with him about anything it seems, and he feels the same way about me. He told me so.

I've always admired my dad in a special way, but since he's opened up about what he feels about God, what he loves about being a teacher and what he struggles with in teaching, and the regrets he has in life, it's like a whole new dimension has been created in our relationship.

We talked about things going on in his classroom, and it was fascinating. I have so many memories of going to school with my dad and watching him teach, and he was always so good at it. He likes to be Mr. Tough Guy by punishing students with pushups, but more than that, he genuinely cares about his students. We talked about kids in his class that are on welfare. Kids in his class that are trying hard are barely passing. He is in a dilemma with many of these kids, and I felt grown up in that he was confiding in me for advice. What do I know about the classroom? About high school kids barely making it? Yet, he wanted to know.

Even on my birthday, up in Blackhawk, he told me I could ask him 5 questions. These 5 questions could be about anything. Specifically, things I have always wanted to know about my dad. He vowed to answer fully and honestly. He just said, "Heather, you're 21. You are growing up. We can talk about things as adults now."

I can't reveal the questions or the answers, as I was sworn into Newell secrecy.

Let's just say it this way—there is a very clear reason I am the daughter of Edward (Ted) Lance Newell.

We're crazy.

We're weird.

But, we love life.