Eats and Beats: How We Stay in Harmony

Father and Son Dining at LA Restaurant

It’s not lost on me just how lucky I am that my kids still want to spend time with me—and not out of any sense of duty or tradition, but because they genuinely enjoy it. It’s a gift, one I’m more aware of with each passing year.

This Halloween, my daughters, now 22 and 24, came over to help pass out candy, and what started as a simple evening together turned into a few days that reminded me how much I treasure these moments. We planned to keep it low-key: watch a scary movie, hand out candy to trick-or-treaters, and carry on our tradition of having Popeyes chicken—something my father-in-law began years ago. But as the night unfolded, I realized it was shaping up to be much more than just a fun evening.

They came home from different jobs, bringing with them all the energy and stories of their lives, and the plan to stay just one night stretched into an entire weekend. Those extra days were an unexpected gift, one that made me realize how precious this time is when they come back to us, bringing life into our home and laughter back into our rooms. Now they live only a few miles away, but it’s a different feeling when they’re back home, under our roof, filling the space with the sounds of their voices, the little quirks of our family humor, and the ease that comes from being together. I’m reminded again of how grateful I am, as a father, that they choose to come home not just out of tradition but because they genuinely want to spend this time with us.

Next week another family reunion awaits. Our son will be flying in from Los Angeles, where he’s the chef de cuisine at a popular restaurant, building a life in a city that’s worlds away from where he grew up. We talk often, every week on the phone, and keep each other updated with family group texts. But it’s different when we’re all in the same place, sharing meals and moments, feeling the warmth of each other’s presence. We’re all counting down the days to his arrival, looking forward to a week filled with family time, great meals, and a whole lot of catching up.

My daughters call him “the Walking Coupon” because his chef connections allow him to get us into restaurants where we usually do not travel. They’re even taking time off work to make the most of his visit, and we have plans to hop around Chicago’s restaurant scene, savoring each meal and every laugh along the way. It’s going to be a week of fully living in the moment, soaking in the chance to share stories, reconnect, and celebrate being together.

What is humorous is that him coming home all started by me asking last February if he wants to go to a concert. He did not hesitate when I asked him. He just said, "Well, I can't miss that can I"? In just a few days, my family, and a few of my Greenland Sharks buddies will join me at the The Metro to see Front 242 play their last U.S. concert. For a Gen Xer who spent his college years diving into industrial music, this show is something of a pilgrimage, a way of honoring the soundtrack of my youth.

Back in my University of Illinois days, Front 242 was one of the bands that captured my spirit and got me through tough times, a reminder of who I was and the passions that shaped me. Now, here I am, years later, standing alongside my kids as we all share this concert together. They humor me with good-natured jokes about reliving my ‘80s music obsession, but it will be a thrill to have them there, indulging their old man as he dives back into the music that, in so many ways, shaped him.

I’m overwhelmed with a gratitude that’s hard to put into words. I’m thankful for each of them, for the times we laugh, the times we talk, and the quiet times where just being together says more than words ever could. These moments remind me of how lucky I am to have a family that not only puts up with my quirks but chooses to come along for the ride, sharing in the highs and the lows, the big milestones and the simple joys of a note or a meal that make life so meaningful.