things we lost in the fire

-There was a secret passageway from the bathroom to the basement and we used it for more than dirty clothes.

-I didn't go there as often as I should have. 

-We used to watch scary movies and I hated scary movies. But we ate popcorn and we replaced our parents with lots of blankets. 

-They used to be young. We all used to be so young.

-My Vietnamese friend came by one time and he didn't feel welcome. 

-It's where I learned how to roll up a sleeping bag.

-They made my parents and my parents made me and God made all of us. 

-I only saw them on holidays. I wonder what they were like on normal days.

-Drinking and swearing and laughing and do we have to go home already?

-The pictures make us think that they lived black and white lives, but nothing is ever that simple.

-She cooked the best rolls and I've never felt safer.

-He painted the best Easters and he painted the best Christmases.

-Now the only time we see each other is funerals and weddings, but I don't seem to remember the weddings anymore.

-It was another world, but it was barely an hour away.

-These memories are pictures of pictures. 

-I wonder how much my own kids will forget. 

Old Faithful

I want to be reliable like that
Church every Sunday
Remember every birthday
Kiss my daughter's knee every time she falls down

But I want to be unpredictable
You never know what to expect
I keep you on your toes
Fun to be around
More alive than a robot,
a clock,
a machine
Something you can't program

I want no one to count on me

sometimes

I don't know what my dad's favorite color is and I'm starting to wonder if that even matters.

We're all sitting around the football game and a guy asks my wife, "How did you guys meet?"

My dad says, "Well, I had sex with his mother and then he was born." I was the only one who laughed.

Sometimes the funniest moments go unappreciated.

My dad stopped drinking when it was too late, but he's still alive. It was his birthday yesterday and he sent me a text at 7:38 pm.

"Thank you so much. One of the best birthdays ever!!! My favorite food, a movie and my family, it doesn't get better than that."

Sometimes there's no poetry in the truth. 

My wife asked him if he had any advice in his 61 years and he said something about following your dreams. He wanted to be a swimmer. He wanted to be a vet. He didn't become either of those things.

Sometimes the best examples are hypothetical.

So today we'll go to my sister's house for dinner. We'll order pizza from The Pie and eat cupcakes and watch football and we'll be happy. We won't think about everything that could've been. We won't listen to the voices from the past or worry about the future.