Mom’s Weekend is a time to honor the first female role model in your life, the woman who influenced you the most. But what do you do if you don’t have one?

Coming from a single-parent household, I anticipated that Mom’s Weekend would bring up some personal awkwardness as classmates ask, “Is your mom coming?” when mine hasn’t been in my life for several years.

With my father agreeing to visit, I thought a great deal about how I would spend time with him. And while my father’s idea of fun ranges anywhere from building Lego airplanes to listening to Mozart, we decided those free Clinique makeovers just weren’t for us.

Instead of running away from hordes of single moms, my father and I didn’t see a lot of events that appealed to us, so I came up with some alternatives around the Pullman area.

Mom’s Weekend also marks the end of the NHL season, with playoffs starting the following Wednesday. Why not catch an end-of-season game during dad’s visit?

Today, the Tampa Bay Lightning plays the Montreal Canadians at 4:30 p.m., Saturday hosts 10 different matches, and Sunday presents another six games, so your favorite team likely has a match over the weekend.

Despite not knowing much about hockey myself, my New York Islander-fan father adores the sport and explaining his favorite players to me. I learn something new, he gets to share his interests and we spend valuable bonding time together.

Around Pullman, the Cougar Entertainment Center offers laser tag, mini golf and an arcade. About $15 for two games of laser tag, mini golf or one of each, my dad and I had a blast during his last visit. Especially with the different modes offered, such as free-for-all or my personal favorite “Midnight Madness.” In the latter, all the lights from the vests and guns are shut off, forcing players to sneak around like ninjas in the darkness.

In addition to the mom-centric events around campus, the community also has events like Palouse Choral Society’s third concert of the season. Both dad and mom can appreciate Mozart’s “Requiem,” which also happens to take place during Mom’s Weekend today and Sunday.

Considering my father influenced the majority of my tastes in music growing up, we still share a lot of similarities in preferences. Despite preferring soft instrumentals to my more intense heavy metal, we can both appreciate the classics.

While my “Mr. Mom,” as he often puts it, will spend time with me over Mom’s Weekend in place of my actual mother, we plan to make the most of his time with me.

After all, we all come from different households and family situations, and the only thing that really matters is what you make of what you have.

Nina Willis is a freshman animal science major from Kelso. She can be contacted at 335-1140 or by [email protected].