Happy Father’s Day & Grand RiZEing!

Happy Father's Day and Grand RiZEing!

We honor and remember our fathers and fatherly figures for many reasons, but especially in these uncertain times. Fathers are the protectors, the providers, and the leaders of the family. They are the ones who ensure you learned your lesson. Without our fatherly figures in our lives, where would we be? 

I was blessed to be able to see my Dad for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. He came up from our hometown in Ohio to see me and my family last month during Mother’s Day weekend. I was a little apprehensive about his visit, to be honest. I wanted everything to be perfect, of course. It felt like it had been so long since I had seen him that I was afraid he wouldn’t recognize me. Not in a literal sense, but in a more metaphorical way. Two and a half years had gone by, and I had established a new life in a different state, away from my Dad’s side of the family. I wondered what he would think and what he would have to say about everything here as he sees it. If you knew him, you would know he always had something to say!

I couldn’t believe my eyes when he arrived at the Iron Mountain Airport with a Rasta poncho on! If you asked him, he wouldn’t admit he was wearing it as a sign that he wanted to get high, but it was implied, of course. Words could not describe how it felt to embrace my Dad for the first time in over two years. Imagine the best long overdue bear hug you ever received in your life. Crocodile tear drops were rolling down my face. I didn’t even realize how homesick I truly was until that exact moment. I brought him home so that we could all ride together and have breakfast somewhere. We took him to B’s Country Cafe for that quaint small-town feel and the giant French toast!

My sons thoroughly enjoyed having their Papa around for those few days. I got to help facilitate my Dad and my sons creating loving memories together that they will all cherish. And even to this day my sons are still taking pretend trips with Papa “to the restaurant”. My Dad helped us in more ways than one while he was here, from simply blessing us with his loving presence to sharing his personal experiences and wisdom with my boyfriend and me. I believe the visit was very cathartic for everyone involved. My dad got to see his only daughter all grown up with a beautiful family of her own now and purposefully striving to be better everyday. We all gained some value from the time we had together. These moments he got to witness, brought him back to when he was a young parent with my mother, and he wished us the best and showed so much love and support for our family. It is quite the phenomena, how the circle of life will reciprocate before your very eyes in that kind of way. 

We went for a hike at Piers Gorge, toured the Iron Mountain Rize Dispensary, enjoyed beautiful views of Lake Antoine, attended church on Sunday morning and even got to enjoy some cannabis! Yes, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! It’s so crazy to even consider my Dad consuming cannabis because I remember when I used to get in trouble for “stinking up” the house when I came home from smoking with my friends, but I digress. 

I handed him a Treetown oatmeal cookie. I got it as a sample from work (perks of being a cannabis consultant). I informed him beforehand that it had 100 mg of THC in it. And I advised him that he would not want to eat the entire cookie in one sitting. He opened the package and took out the cookie. He promptly took a nice size bite out of it and continued his conversation with us right there in the living room. Some minutes later, Cody even reminds him that he may not want to eat more than half to which my Dad replied with “it’s just a cookie” as in, one little cookie won’t hurt him. I shook my head and laughed, saying “alright, don’t say I didn’t warn you!”. In hindsight, maybe I should have taken the rest of the cookie from him, but I didn’t think I needed to parent my Dad, so he got to learn his lesson, so to speak. He continues on eating the cookie until it’s gone all while still carrying on the conversation, we were having at the time…

Later on, we ate dinner at Pizza Oven and my Dad is finally starting to feel the effects kick in. “That’s the feeling I remember,” he says with a grin on his face, looking around the pizza parlor. I could tell he was really unwinding and probably feeling physical relief; he was enjoying himself. We had our pizza and laughed at the boys being silly, jibber jabbering with their sugar highs from the root beers they were drinking. It was really just so much fun being surrounded by all my favorite men: my little guys, my Dad, and Cody. We ate until we were uncomfortably full and happy. We knew Dad was fried when he turned to us all of a sudden at the table and whispered, “so which one of y’all is not high?”, basically asking “who is about to drive us all home?”. He was getting too high, and he was tired, you could see it on his face. So, I drove him back to his hotel and walked him to his room. I’m sure it was lights out shortly after we left him. 

The next morning when I saw him, I said “see, that’s why you’re supposed to listen to your cannabis consultant!”. He shook his head and we laughed about it. I told my brothers and sister-in-law over the phone that I got Dad high “so I can cross that off my bucket list”. They laughed and laughed. Dad told me that after I left him in his room the night before, that he tried to eat some chips from his complimentary hotel bag, but he had such a dry mouth that it was basically a fail. The story just got funnier and funnier, but I am not going to lie to you guys; I was a bit worried for a moment when we dropped him off and went home for the night. Dad had to make a quick detour to the lobby bathroom on our way up to his room, if you know what I mean. It was quite the joke for a while but my Dad held his own “like a G” as the kids would say.

My Dad has been and still is a very strong role model in my life even though I don’t see him very often anymore. He continues to do his best with his children, who are now mostly grown (there’s four of us, in three different decades). And he was always known to be a hard worker who would make the necessary sacrifices to provide and protect his family. He raised me and my two older brothers by himself, with no help from our mom. And showed us all what a real man is supposed to look like. He pushed me to do my best in everything I set my mind to and always reminds me to make good decisions and put God and my family first. If you have a father figure in your life that you hold dear, make sure you let them know how much they mean to you this season. Life is so short, and the precious memories are all that we will be left with, so make them count!

Let this story about my Dad be a lesson to those who may want to try edibles for the first time. Please make sure you consume responsibly. Start with a very small dosage (2.5mg), wait the required amount of time (45 minutes) to see how you feel and then decide if you want to increase your dosage. Listen to your cannabis consultant and even give us a call at the shop if you are unsure about how to consume. It is very important to be informed and aware of how much you are taking. Everyone’s body chemistry is unique and your experience may not be like another’s. 

Sending all those who read this love, peace, wholeness, and balanced vibrations.

Happy Father’s Day!

— Mystic Mommy aka #BreFromRize