APOLOGIZE NOW THAT YOU’VE HAD TIME TO THINK

Apologize now? For what?

Who hasn’t had some regret during the coronavirus quarantine? Maybe a little remorse?

If that’s you, then it’s time to apologize now. Start early and bring it up to speed.

If your parents are still among the living, give them an apology. Do it even if they’ve passed.

“Mom, I’m sorry college was so hard for you. Education for the girls in the family didn’t take off the way it did the boys. At least at first.”

College was hard for a tall girl smart enough to skip two grades and enroll in higher education at seventeen, away from home and friends.

Grandma set the standard of excellence a few years later by going back to college in her sixties and setting academic standards that still stand. Smart women run in the family.

You’ve probably got more to apologize now for. Be a good boy, a good girl, and figure it out. If you were perfect and have nothing to apologize for, then apologize for not letting your mom fix you. You know she wanted to.

The father apology is more complicated.

Son: I’m sorry, Dad.

Dad: Sorry? Sorry for what?

Son: I’m apologizing.

Dad: Yes, I understand what you’re doing. It’s the why part I’m asking about.

Son: Can’t I just be sorry?

Dad: Have you been listening to John Denver again? His sorry song always gets to me, too.

Son: (Singing) I’m sorry for the way things are in China,
I’m sorry things ain’t what they used to be,
But more than anything else
I’m sorry for myself
‘Cause you’re not here with me

Apologize Now Like It Matters

Dad: I love that song.

Son: I’m sorry for all the lies I told you, I’m sorry for the things I didn’t say.
But more than anything else, I’m sorry for myself. I can’t believe you went away.

I’m sorry if I took some things for granted, I’m sorry for the chains I put on you. But more than anything else, I’m sorry for myself for living without you.

Dad: I’m sorry, too.

Son: For what?

Dad: Your mother always wondered if I went to sea after you were born because I had orders, or because I volunteered.

Son: You had two babies at home a year apart, right?

Dad: That’s right.

Son: And Mom didn’t know enough about the Marines to understand the difference between single men, married men, and married men with children?

Dad: Do you?

Son: If I had to guess, I’d say you volunteered for sea duty for one last breath of freedom.

Dad: You’ve got two boys, too.

Son: Your grandkids.

Dad: And you’ve done right by them?

Son: Yes, I think so.

Dad: I volunteered for sea duty because it was the best decision for the family.

Son: But you never told Mom?

Dad: Got to keep the mystery alive in relationships, son.

Son: Can I tell her if she asks again?

Dad: Why ruin the fun.

Son: What fun?

Dad: Remember when you bought a switchblade and she confiscated it and wouldn’t give it back? Remember what she said?

Son: She said I could have it back when I’m old enough.

Dad: Did you ever get it back?

Son: I think I was in my thirties.

Dad: She had a lot of fun with that knife.

Son: Okay, then fun it is.