He’s an old man now
Set in his ways
Set in his ways
Vitamin popper
One mile walker
Reader, thinker, preacher
He visits people in that remote Canadian village
Relatives, friends, church folk.
He works on his house
Paints it
Tarred the roof last year
Mows the grass
Mows the grass
Splits firewood
He cares for Mom
Drives her places
Pays the bills
Buys the groceries
He’s an old man now
Once young and vital
Hard-working, thrifty
Conservative but unconventional
No cookie-cutter
He watches every Christian show on TV
Too lenient on his tenants
But Jesus is OK with that, I think
He doesn’t exactly get what I do
And for some reason I still look for his approval,
His blessing, even with grandbabies of my own
What’s up with that?
I feel guilty living 1000 miles away
My sister lives near him
And too much responsibility falls to her
Sorry, sis
It’s great to have a phone plan
That lets me call my folks
Every day if I want
Usually twice a week now
I hope to see him in seventeen days
He’ll be waiting for hugs,
My wife broke down his hug barrier
Thirty years ago
He expects it now.
We’ll take my folks out to dinner
Drive them around
Celebrate the birthdays we missed this year
And the sixtieth wedding anniversary
We’ll talk politics and theology
Walk together in the morning
Maybe chew spruce gum
He may say something important about his estate
Maybe not
We’ll listen to his stories
Treasure ten brief days
He’ll pray for us
Before we get in the car to go
He’s an old man now
A good man
Nice, Gary.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bim, I'm grateful to God for living parents whom I can still honor.
ReplyDeleteYour dad doesn't look 86! He looks like he has your sense of humour (the same smile anyway). I love the poetic tribute.
ReplyDeleteThanks Philip. He has a very dry wit, but will sometimes laugh at a silly thing and have trouble getting stopped. He doesn't look 86.
ReplyDeleteA friend (who is a country fiddler) told his neighbour on his 80th birthday that he would hate to live till he was 80. The neighbour answered "wait till your 79 and say that again". He then said, "if I'd known I was going to live so long I'd have looked after myself better".
ReplyDeleteMy mum is 94 and has never been more content.
Great story, Philip! You're blessed to still have your mum.
ReplyDeleteMakes me think of my dad. Another good man. They were not quite the same but similarities come to mind.
ReplyDeleteDrink in the moments with him long and slowly during those ten days.
Savour them.
Thanks Ralph,
ReplyDeleteI don't know why you lost your dad so soon. He was a very good man.
I think Dad and Mom will be coming to Yarmouth area with us, probably Monday, July 26th for a day or two. When do you expect to be there?