Father's Day

Today is the first Father's Day since my dad passed last November.  Dad never made a big deal about Father's Day, but I realize in retrospect it's because he did a lot of sacrificing for his family.  I get it now.  My kids look at me like I'm crazy when I say I don't want anything for Father's Day or Christmas, but I honestly don't.  I get just as much or more happiness from seeing them get things they enjoy.

The reality and gravity of the occasion really struck me harder yesterday than it has today. I was listening to a CD that was recorded by the select choir at the high school where I help out with the show choir program and it just started up the waterworks. Music does that to me above anything else and especially because my dad loved attending the choral concerts of both his kids and grandkids.

This song in particular by current American composer Eric Whitacre impacted me. His use of tight dissonant chords just seems to grab me by the soul and shake emotion out of me:

Note: This recording was another of his internet experiments where he has people from all around the globe record their one part and submit them.  They're then edited together to form a virtual choir.

I was also especially touched today by the post made by Otis/Brad on his stunningly well written blog over at Rapid Eye Reality. If you're not a regular reader of his, you should be.