Could it be he didn’t buy into all those stuffy church rules? Oh, Lord, I hope so.

Thankful Notes (#239)

“Drink in the small joys around you, whether it’s the shadow of the moon on a clear night, or a rainbow reflection on a glass in the sunlight.” —Katya Adleren

Now that my dad has moved into the house next door, we’ve been driving together a lot more often than before. My dad’s car is a little too high-tech for him with touch screens and not enough physical buttons. This makes it difficult for him to figure out the defrost and temperature controls and the radio.

I’ve been his driver lately and I decided we need music. So I’ve been rockin’ out with my dad in the car as we drive around. He frequently taps his hand along with the music and this reminds me of a memory I have of my dad… back in the 1980’s when I went to one of those school roller-skating parties. I remember him reacting to the music—grooving, singing along, tapping his foot, and moving with it. I remember being surprised

My surprise was about his visible embracing of the music—not “Christian” music, but pop-rock music about love, longing, passion, emotion, and rebellion.

It was music that spoke about the things that were swirling around in my young heart.

Back in those days, the church we attended was legalistic. The devil was lurking behind anything that sounded fun… dancing, video games, pool tables, movie theaters, “secular” music, and the list went on and on.

So to see my dad grooving to the 1981 song Centerfold (my angel is the centerfold) by J. Geils Band, I was pretty stunned. It blew my young mind. He also appeared to love Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield. And Red Skies by the Fixx.

I wondered what this means. Is my dad cool? Nah… that didn’t seem possible. Was he just a music lover? Maybe.

Could it be he didn’t buy into all those stuffy church rules? Oh, Lord, I hope so.

Today we were driving with the windows down and blasting Green Day’s Wake Me Up When September Ends as my dad bobbed his head and thumped his hand on the car door.

Next up, I’m gonna see what he thinks of R&B and rap.

I’m guessing he will groove along.

Maybe he is cool.

Maybe he always was.

Camper seems to think so. She adores him.