As some of you know, I've been feeling very nostalgic about my father, lately, and thinking about parents and their children in general quite a lot as well.

How timely, then, that one of my favorite bands, the Beatles, have their offspring in the news.

Yoko and Cynthia getting along out of the blue, with Julian and Sean as their tie...and, of course, John being the major tie that binds.

George's son Dhani with Ben Harper in a new band, Fistful of Mercy, as an added bonus.

Children and ex-wives suddenly getting along. It's nice to see.

I think that George and John would be pleased.

I think that, through the years, the few times I've mentioned my father in my blog posts I gave the impression that he was a wonderful, perfect being whom I miss. And part of me likes to think that, but of course, my father was only human. Just like the rest of us. And yes, I do miss him but, no, he was not perfect. And neither am I, and neither was my mother, and neither is any other member of my family. If any of us were perfect, we'd have our faces spotted in grilled cheese sandwiches, yes no?

No family is perfect. Even the Waltons had their messes. Of course, the Waltons were able to solve everything in sixty minutes. The rest of us don't have that luxury. So it can take years, decades sometimes, for family members to even try to get along. Now multiply that by adding in the equation of strangers, and you can understand why we have such a long way to go in this world, towards getting along with others.

But, I digress. My point tonight is to say that it's never too late to try to reach out to those related to us. As it's never too late to try to reach out to those who aren't.

It's never too late unless you're on your deathbed, and even then, it's not too late to try.

Thank your step-fathers, thank your step-mothers, your half-siblings (why the hell do we call them half-siblings, anyway?? – they are our blood!). Thank your parents and your siblings and your children, one and all.

Life is too short for old arguments to get in the way. Love doesn't come easy, so get it where you can.

Be proud of where and who you come from, and be proud of those whom you leave behind you, and those who left you behind.

Be humble enough to get in touch with those whom you've let go of. Try, at least, to get in touch and say, “I'm sorry, but I'm here now.”

Be calm enough to withstand the anger you might encounter, and be angry enough to start a discussion.

Be open. Be yourself. Be who you are but know that you didn't get here all on your own. Know that you can't get anywhere by staying alone.

Be loving. Be patient. It seems to work, most of the time. And when it doesn't work....give it time. And then be loving, and be patient, all over again.

Take that first step, reach across those lines. No one else will do it for you, and no one else should. It is your task. But if, by reaching out, your hand gets grasped in return, your journey will become not only yours, but theirs.

I hope this makes sense...I'm talking in coded riddles to too many people I know, at once....many of my family members are still a step behind me, and many people I love are closer to this point but may be still afraid. But I love you all and I love your children and I honor your parents and I love where we and you all came from. And I most especially love where we might all go from here. If we can just make the first move to get there.

(Cross-posted from Once Upon a Paradigm, with love)