“Should I go to the first day of the conference or see my daughter?” I asked my group of fellow family travel writers during a Zoom meeting ahead of our work conference.
The conference would be held in New York City, where my 20-year-old daughter lives and goes to college.
My original plan was to attend the two-day conference and just have dinner with her, but then she surprised me with news. She had the whole day free, while I was in town.
I decided to pull a Ferris Bueller.
I’ve never been the one to play hooky
Growing up, I watched “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” so many times I could’ve stepped in as his understudy.
But in high school, I wasn’t the one jumping on parade floats or outsmarting the principal. I was more like Jeanie, the rule-following sister who never once considered skipping school.
So why did I love the movie? It wasn’t just funny. It was the idea of being a maverick. As a lifelong rule-follower, Ferris represented a level of recklessness I usually reserved for using the grocery ten-item limit express lane.
This trip to New York was my chance to see my daughter. Sorry, not sorry, Principal Rooney. I’m taking the day off.
Luckily, I was with my daughter when she received exciting news
Even though I grew up in New York and my daughter lives in the city, we decided to be total tourists for the day. Our CityPASS was our “hall pass,” giving us admission to the Guggenheim, the Empire State Building, and Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center.
The Guggenheim was first. As an art major, this was her pick. When I first saw her in the middle of the room surrounded by art, she had a huge smile on her face. I’d like to think it was because she was happy to see me (which I think she was), but it turns out she just learned some exciting news.
“I just got an email,” she said. “I got an interview for the Guggenheim internship.”
While we were standing in the Guggenheim.
I looked around for hidden cameras and half-expected someone to yell “Cut!” This was too surreal. What were the odds she’d find out right now, in the middle of the gallery? Here I was escaping work responsibilities, while she was standing there successfully manifesting her own.
Her excitement was infectious and set the tone for the rest of the day. I was so glad to experience that with her in person.
We kept exploring the city, making the guilt of skipping the conference worth it
After we soaked up the art, we went to the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center and the Empire State Building. I realize that’s a little redundant, but shockingly, my daughter had never been to the famous Empire State Building.
At the top, she marveled at how small everything looked from that height and discussed her plans to create art inspired by the experience.
I, on the other hand, was glad to be in a tourist trap instead of a Q&A quagmire. At some point, I even forgot the conference existed.
We then opted for a three-hour Koreatown Food and Culture Walking Tour with a guide named Robert. He has Korean heritage and is a New Yorker, so it was the best of both worlds. It further helped me overcome my guilt about skipping the travel conference, and then I wondered, “Could this count as professional development?”
By the end, my daughter had enough to-go containers to feed her entire dorm floor and possibly start her own food tour.
Playing hooky was worth it
My daughter is almost done with college. She’s already planning to stay in New York City over the summer, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she sticks around after graduation.
Even though we only spent eight hours together, it felt like a full-length Ferris film. It was definitely a better script than the one I was supposed to be following.
The following day, I attended my work conference, happy to have had that time with my daughter.
If Ferris Bueller taught us anything, it’s that sometimes the side trip is the point.
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