On the way home from Ames with Mom last night, a song came on the radio.

"If you got a problem, don't care what it is
If you need a hand, I can assure you this
I can help, I got two strong arms
I can help

It would sure do me good to do you good
Let me help

It's a fact that people get lonely, ain't nothing new
But a woman like you baby should never have the blues
Let me help, I got two for me
Let me help

When I go to sleep at night you're always a part of my dream
Holding me tight and telling me everything I wanna hear
Don't forget me baby, all you gotta do is call
You know how I feel about you, if I can do anything at all
Let me help, if your child needs a daddy, I can help

It would sure do me good to do you good
Let me help"

Mom said that Dad gave her that record when they were dating. “I thought it was sweet.” And I saw that. I could see how that would touch her, Dad’s own way of saying, “I want to take care of you.” It’s not necessarily an easy thing to see, Dad’s love, not unless you knew what you were looking for or had been trained to look for it.

I started reading The Mists of Avalon this weekend. A lot of the plotline so far has centered around Igraine’s destiny with Uther Pendragon as the parents of King Arthur. She learns that their souls have been bound throughout eternity, through countless lives reincarnated, thus when she meets him for the “first” time, she knows she has known him forever.

As I read, I knew that if I had read this two months ago, it would not have resonated so much within me. Although I do not believe in reincarnation, it is a simple explanation for the complex reasons how we can know someone without ever having met them before. It took me years to learn how to recognize my father’s love. Mom knew it.