So My Parent’s Celebrated Their Anniversary In Sin City

My parents are the best parents in the entire world.

I know that may spark some debate, but it’s the truth. The only things on their level are perfectly ripe avocados on sale in the Mid West or finding any parking spot in a shopping mall on Black Friday… And today, July 11, 2017, marks my parents’ 25th anniversary. They met at a summer banking picnic. My biological mom, Nette: 28 years-old with a tough exterior and a heart of gold who somehow spoke with an Oklahoma/Louisiana accent despite growing up in California. And my non-biological mom, Kathy: 30 years-old with a 3 y/o daughter and a level of compassion that rivaled most Golden Retrievers. Chit-chatting for hours about risk management, currency watermarks, and other (seemingly) trivial aspects of bankers’ lives. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t even know banking picnics existed—  but I think it’s the most adorable ever. And they’ve been adorable ever since. Like any other couple, my parents are traveling to celebrate spending 2 and a half decades with one another. But unlike normal couples in their mid-fifties, my parents chose a rather lively place to visit… Las Freaking Vegas.  

 

 

To be fair, it’s not that crazy for my parents to be in Vegas; they’ve had a timeshare there for years (contributing to an odd amount of pre-teen birthdays and Thanksgivings spent in Sin City while I was growing up). But this time, my parents had the week to themselves and decided to hit the town! First thing on their list: a drag show brunch by RuPaul this past Sunday.

I repeat: A Drag Show Brunch. For their anniversary vacation.

They always have some wild card excursion on their vacations: parasailing in Hawaii; zip-lining in Puerto Vallarta; driving on the edge of a cliff in Lake Tahoe. I honestly don’t know how my parents find out about these things because I struggle to find events around me on Facebook.  That night, my phone blew up with notifications— Kathy still tags my sister and me in all of her Facebook posts because she wants to make sure we see what she’s up to and doesn’t understand the purpose of tagging. They were right next to the stage and took every picture imaginable: drags from the show, all of the slightly less than PC signs, them double fisting mimosas (which I can only describe as iconic). 

 

Goals

Such Goals

  

After the Drag Show Hullabaloo, I had to give them a call. I knew to contact them in the early evening because every night with Nette and Kathy ends the same way: Kathy picks a DVD (usually Tombstone) for them to watch together and falls asleep before it ends, leaving Nette in the dust. I caught them both awake and found out the rest of their (tamer) plans for the week: early morning water aerobics (which is not just for old people because I tried it and it was surprisingly difficult!), going to a Soul Food restaurant where every portion is large, and touring around Downtown Las Vegas— yep, that’s a real thing.

We drifted through topics. Catching up on their drive from Long Beach to their resort, teasing Nette for always needing fashion assistance on vacation. Although I may not call them as often as I should (The life of a college student is busy!), I love talking to my parents for 2 hours after only intending on asking them for our Netflix password or an online signature. We ended our conversation talking about Kathy’s new hair style, crochet braids— which of course she wants me to try as soon as she can get her hands on my mop of hair. After struggling attempting it the first time by herself, Kathy told me how she needed Nette’s help. Even though Nette’s hair styling experience can be summed up into two techniques (combing her hair or putting it into a braid when her hair was longer), she happily fumbled along and lent Kathy a hand. That’s one thing I’ve always admired about them; they lift each other up so they can both enjoy life to their fullest potential. Whether it’s Kathy picking out Nette’s outfit so she doesn’t look crazy at a fancy dinner or Nette calming Kathy’s fear of heights whenever they go on a roller coaster… Kathy said it best:

“We can do anything together.”

From drag show extravaganzas to dozing off during Tombstone

Comment below and let me know what’s the craziest thing your parents have done!

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