Jogging with Dad

Every morning
I go jogging with Dad

He got sick a few years ago
Stopped drinking
Stopped smoking
Stopped eating all the crap he used to eat

I lied about the drinking
He didn't stop drinking all the time
But he doesn't drink as much
And for that, we're grateful

When it comes to Dad
You take what you can get

He showed up last weekend
And wanted to take my boys fishing

I thought they were going to die from shock
But then they got all excited
And asked me if they could go
As if I would say no to them
Spending time with their grandfather

Sad that they would think I would...

Anyway, we go jogging
And it's...

Well, it's a little early for me
I'm not a morning person
I'd rather we just get coffee in the afternoon
Or have him come over for dinner more
But, he likes jogging
And it's good for him
And I feel like he wants someone there with him
Because when he had the heart attack
Nobody was there
And I think that was scary for him
Being alone

I guess it would be scary for anyone

So we jog

When you almost lose a parent
You start becoming obsessive
About time
About how much time you're getting in with them

So we jog
And we talk
And we make an effort
At bonding to each other
At sticking, you know?

We've never stuck before
Me and my dad
We've never...
Tried to really know anything about each other

And now we're trying to correct that

We ask questions
We...

We're ashamed
Of how little we know

But we're working at it

And hopefully we'll have time
To make it all work

Hopefully there's enough time left
Enough mornings
Enough laps around the park

Either way
We got a second chance

And that's something, isn't it?