Joyfully and Perhaps Inappropriately is how Mom and I Belted out Dad's Song

 

My Mom didn't understand but if she did she would have used my given name and pursed her lips and raised that one eyebrow that said she was not happy with me. Alzheimer had taken so many of Mom's memories and she was on Hospice when I sat at her bedside wondering if she could remember lyrics to songs. It seemed like a good idea. There was a song my Dad used to sing all the time that Mom and I would sing on trips we took. I was thrilled when she began to sing along with me. The fun truth is that she even emphasized verses that we always had before. She got the lyrics, the rhythm and the inflections. It was awesome. What a connection I felt with my Mom and Dad. I called Ronnie B. all excited and Mom and I serenaded him with this song from my childhood. It was not the most appropriate I must admit. Being about a barroom fight and the guy believing he wouldn't survive his injuries. Thanks Dad. Out of all the songs Dad taught us this is the one I remember. Let me just say most all of Dad's songs where inappropriate. From the song about high school boys cussing, gambling and drinking whiskey in their dirty socks to the cat pissing under the chair while everyone looked for him, Dad's songs were always a bit colorful. The timing of the song Mom and I were belting out was shocking but then hilarious. Sometimes innocence makes a bond and a memory that we will always cherish. It wouldn't have been as memorable if we were singing The Old Rugged Cross which was another song Dad sang. 

So here is how that song we sang for Ronnie B. goes..........

Went to a bar one Sunday night and I got into a barroom fight. 

Don't call my name~ain't ready to go, don't call my name~ain't ready to go

If I go now I'll go below.

Hum, that was not exactly the song we should have been singing as Mom was closing in on her final days. But it was the song we were joyfully singing. We both were remembering the times singing with Dad and Mom giving him that look for the lyrics. Now we were just connecting and sharing and it was beautiful if inappropriate. My hope is that she and Dad sang together when she took her first step into his arms. They had no doubt about where they were going after life on earth. I will be thrilled to see them together again when it is my final hour here and my first step home there. Until then I will teach Dad's inappropriate and appropriate songs to my grandkids and watch my own kids raise their eyebrows at me.

In Him,

Joyful

3-22-22