It was January 2, 2020. Tyler and I went out for dinner for at The Sea--it was our Christmas gift to him. That left Jenny and Dylan to enjoy the night together. On the internet, Jenny found out about Maldonado's Pizza on Rengstorff Avenue in Mountain View. Dylan brought back a calzone. Whether it was his first-ever calzone isn't certain. What is known for sure, however, is it was by far the largest calzone he's had--before or since. They also got Get Smart on DVD from the library.
Dylan points to that night as his happiest memory with Jenny--if not his happiest ever--because of the alone time he got to spend with her. It was a rare moment when he was truly alone with Jenny to talk and enjoy an evening with her. He went to several concerts with Jenny, which he enjoyed, but the focus tended to be more on the performance than each other.
This intimacy with Jenny was strikingly similar to my happiest memory with my own mom. We joined my dad on a business trip to Japan in 1994. While my dad met with a customer, my mom and I went to the National Museum of Japanese History in Sakura. The two of us were alone in a giant museum. As such, I felt exceptionally close to my mom--as if we were on a strange planet and all we had was each other.
Sadly, I never got around to telling my mom, who passed away three years ago, how much that day together meant to me. I will always regret it. However, Dylan had the presence of mind to tell Jenny how special that night was to him. I'm very grateful to Dylan for that.
From these two stories, I have the following observations:
1) If you're a parent, you never know when that special moment will come with your child. It doesn't always take a trip to Disneyland to make the magic happen. That most special memory for your son or daughter might only be a dinner away. One irony is that the night was intended to be a gift for Tyler, but it ended up being an even greater gift for Dylan.
2) If you're a child and have an amazing memory that involves one of your parents, let them know before it's too late. Your mom or dad will want to hear it and you'll be grateful that you told them.
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