Things you should really ask about

   The day before my birthday last week, I was upstairs folding laundry and I found myself thinking about what it must have been like for my parents this same night, sixty-0ne years ago. I have never heard all the little details about what went on just before I was born, at least not as an adult so that it would stick.

   Now that both my parents have passed, I will likely never hear any of those particular stories. I'll never know where my mum was when her water broke, I'll never know if the trip to the hospital was maniacal or orderly, or whether there was maybe a snowstorm that day.
   I DID have my chance, though. Dad and I spent hours after golf on Mondays talking about the olden days and I never once asked him about the day I was born. This might be lost, unless I can talk to some relatives who might have second- or third-hand accounts. The account I wanted, however, was first-hand.
   My Dad got ill and then passed away all in the space of a month. If I'd maybe had an inkling this would happen, I might have spent more time mining the vein. As it was, we still had some good talks at his bedside in the hospital. We just never talked about everything.
   It's not like the people in your life are going to be there forever. It's also not like you might be in their life forever. If you think there might be something worth asking or maybe something worth talking about, you probably should just take that step and do it.
   In many of our after-golf talks, I think I likely surprised my Dad with what I remembered from growing up. In talking to my own sons, they quite often surprise me with what they remember from their days as little kids. Sometimes they remember a lot more than I do. As a parent, it's pretty easy to sometimes get lost in the "bigger picture" as life goes on. As a kid, the focus is entirely different and things are seen from a whole different perspective. This is what's so enlightening about those "asking and telling" kinds of moments.
   I wish perhaps I could have had some of those talks with my Dad twenty or twenty-five years ago, when his memory was just a little fresher. Having said that, it's not like my memory is as sharp as it once was. At the same time, I love to talk! And if I can remember it, I will talk about it! So ask!