One day last Spring, I accompanied a friend to a Psychic for her reading. The Psychic turned to me toward the end of my friend’s session and remarked, with a smile, that I receive messages through song lyrics…then he shook his head and laughed, saying “80’s Music? Seriously? You get messages from 80’s music?” Sheepishly, I looked down, kind of embarrassed and nodded my head. Over the past few years, when I really felt at a loss as to which way to go, some song would come on and BAM! there was an answer that made sense.
The other night at dinner, a song came on while we were all out at a restaurant [youtube video below]. The message was for me to love my parents in the way they needed to be loved. This time home was a catalyst for real heart felt talking between my father and I. It was the first time that he and I went for coffee to sit and have a real honest talk about how our needs were and were not being met in our relationship. Feelings were expressed by both of us of unintentional hurts that, over the years, manifested in other areas of our lives and communication processes.
There is a lot for both of us to reflect upon and grow from. In the end, I feel that as we age, we have a tendency to take those closest to us for granted. Family will always be there, right? Family will always love us, right? So, unintentionally, we do not show as much care and attention to fostering and maintaining these relationship as we may for those just outside the family. I recognize that tendency in Mina already with regards to me and it makes me feel uncomfortable. I noticed last year that she was always asking to buy gifts for others for birthdays and holidays, never bringing or thinking to bring me anything for mother’s day or my birthday. I had to sit down with her and tell her that it was upsetting that I felt I needed to make my own Mother’s Day present with her and I felt forgotten in all of her generosity. Transferring that over to my own immediate family, I can begin to see how I have been neglectful.
We get so busy in our own lives as we get older we forget to check in on those we love. We are still young and active in all that we do that we 
forget that our parents are slowing down. Last summer’s visit resulted in a long conversation with Mom, this year was with my dad. There needs to be a new beginning point because there is no way to go back and start over. You work with what you know and that’s how you move forward.
It’s important for my generation to take a break and look around. Again, songs come back into the mix. Didn’t the song “Cat in the Cradle” make you cry, but aren’t we ending up like that anyway? It is not a conscious thing. Life gets away from us so fast that it is time to re-evaluate and re-direct our love to encompass everyone.