Congratulations, Dad!

I am sitting in LAX, waiting for my flight home. What a whirlwind we've had, visiting with my dad. 

Um, my dad is famous. He received a Lifetime Achievement award on Sunday for his work in prosthetic, special-effects makeup. We were fortunate enough to be able to attend, since it fell during February Break (although had it not, I would have figured out a way!). 

On the red carpet

This is not my usual scene! It was incredible to see my dad's legacy, both in the work that he's done over the decades and the clear impact he's had on other artists. He has developed new ways of doing appliances. He is an artist, a sculptor, and a scientist. 

People are always like, "that must have been so cool growing up!" Yes, and also... no. 

The movie business is weird. And hard. It is not particularly family friendly. Before my dad moved out to LA (when I was a 9th grader), he would leave on location for jobs for months at a time. We did get to visit in interesting places, like Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Laurel Canyon, CA; Toronto; and more. When he lived with us, he had a lab in the basement. It smelled of foam latex and had drawers of lipsticks that I occasionally filched (silver Clinique tubes were my favorite, especially Guava Stain). Once we had buckets of Ultra-Slime delivered to the house when he was working on a Poltergeist movie. 

When visiting in LA, you never knew what you would get to see. I have been on location for a handful of movies and shows, and even got to be an extra once. It impressed upon me how very un-glamorous movie life is. Once I watched actors get out of a car, shut the car door, and say one sentence...about 50 times in a row. I've seen how getting your prosthetic makeup done is long, and boring, and claustrophobic. But, I've also seen how my dad can make it entertaining. 

It was hard, only seeing my dad first two weeks out of a year after my parents divorced. Butt then harder when I visited on my own steam, because that was actually less often. I've been fortunate to see my dad about once every two years for a bit, but it can be as long as seven before in person visits. I hope it's easier now that he is retired! (Working retired, of course, no more 6-month trips to South Africa I think.)

I love my dad so much, and it's always difficult to say goodbye. Those was an amazing visit though, with a day at the LA Zoo, the Aquarium of the Pacific, the fancy schmancy day, and the best Thai food I've ever had in my life last night. Now we really to board our plane, and I am grateful to not be traveling with kids (hats off to those who do, it looks miserable). 

Taking a rest at the zoo

I am so so proud of my dad, and so glad that we could celebrate with him! Until next time...

Me and my dad

Bryce and I all gussied up