As we mature and become adults in our own right, we begin to see life more realistically, but often don’t recognize how it was we developed into whole people.

By the time we reach middle age, many of us have come to realize what we didn’t appreciate when we were younger. That is certainly the case with me.
 

Now that I am well into my life I know what I have, know how I got it and know what I have been slowly losing over the last few years. That is my family. Like many, I haven’t been very good at telling the people close to me how I feel and what they mean to me. Perhaps I am too shy or too uncomfortable to express those feelings. That must be true, because like many, I have allowed a lifetime to pass and not told them how truly important they are to me.

With my father aging, I decided to write the first song, You are My Dad. I sang it to him many times, but somehow never managed to record it. When my sister was diagnosed with cancer, I felt compelled to put down in music what was in my heart, because I was sure I wouldn’t say it well when I saw her.
 

The task was so urgent, that I bought my plane ticket to join her at the doctor on Friday, by Saturday I had written the song and I then spent the entirety of Sunday night in the studio with DM Gremlin laying down the tracks and making the song a reality. I somehow managed to get on a plane Monday morning, song in hand and ready to stand by my sister through her challenge..

There are a few rough spots in the tracks that I should probably fix, but I have decided to keep it just as she first heard it. It was rushed for a reason, there are flaws for a reason and it is those flaws that allow it to touch my heart when I hear it. That is how the song was meant to be.

I have lost both of my parents, all of my grand parents, many of my aunts and uncles and a number of my friends. Some have lived long lives and others passed before their time. What is certain is that before Family Moments, I never articulated my feelings to them as I should have.
 

Some of you are going to read this and feel you are caught up in a sad story. To the contrary, this is not a memorial to their passing, but a celebration of their lives. These are joyous songs that lay praise to the most important thing, my family!

Join in the celebration. As long as we are alive, it is not too late to tell those around us how we feel. I am confident that my brother and my sister will be here to give of themselves for a long time to come. I look forward to many more Family Moments together.