I talked to my daddy today
for the first time in ten years.
After seeing so many Oprah shows
I was expecting some coldness.
Some breaking down.
Something besides what happened.
We had a four-way conversation
as my two sisters joined in.
From the beginning, we laughed.
Oh, yeah, we talked about missing each other.
and missed opportunities to get in touch with each other.
But more than anything, we laughed.
We laughed at how he couldn't keep a woman
because he's gone through another marriage
and how I couldn't keep a man
because I've been divorced once and engaged three times.
We laughed at my sister, Sonya,
who seemed so eager to write to Daddy
but not too eager to use up her last stamp
and how he wasn't pursuing his music career
because his old body couldn't handle standing on stage too long.
He'd rather be fishing, anyway.
After seeing so many Mother Love shows
I learned that it's more important to forgive and forget.
So, I didn't get on his case about not being around.
For years I had tortured myself enough about that.
Now, I just wanted to tell him that I loved him
and I thank God that we found him.
More than anything, I wanted him to know
that when I heard his voice,
I exhaled.