Father's Day 2012

Homemade peanut butter ice cream,
Begging Dad to turn the crank,
Echoes of music from below my bed,
Jammers in the basement playing familiar songs.
Bluegrass festivals, bands on the stage, pickers in the grass.
Sermons from above – notes on my paper every Sunday.
Smiles and laughter – eager to please, ready to entertain.
Family band – complaints from the daughters on fiddle, an education in performing.
Warm snuggles with hairy arms and a baritone voice.
Older and wiser – both of us. All of us. Changes – so many they seem unreal now.
Falling in love, babies, more love, sadness, heartbreak.
But always Love. And always Music.
A tie that binds – or maybe just a thread in common – weaving its notes in and around us.
And always around us.
Watching each other age. Finding new ground. Turning over old ground.
Here we are today – Father, Daughter, Music, Love.
Radically different. Still the same.
Happy Father’s Day.