It's Thanksgiving Day and quiet. After an afternoon of voices and laughter competing against the sound of clanging dishes, the quiet is nice. In the next few days, I will be opening my door to the UPS driver delivering my cardboard boxes full of "No Judgments" CD's. I am excited and glad I will finally be holding in my hands three years of hard work.
The main thing that I love about this project is that I was given an opportunity to share a song that expresses something special for my father. When I was growing up, I had childish ideas about how parents should behave and act, what they should give and what manner in which they should love. It took being a parent myself to realize that no one does it perfectly and getting through a day without tangling things up in one area or another is nothing short of a miracle. After stepping back and re-evaluating things, I realized that my parents were just doing the best they could, in their own way, just like I'm trying to do with my kids. When I wrote the song for my Dad on the back of his motorcycle, it was all about my heart changing, not his. I am glad I was receptive to it because the reward has been finding a closer and deeper relationship with my Dad.
As this project comes to an end, I remind myself that twelve more songs have been added to the long list of songs ever written. Whether they change anyone's point of view or soften anyone's heart is something I may never know. But one thing these songs offered me was help in laying down some judgments that had been hanging around way too long in my life. It's my own personal breakthrough but maybe this music will provide some comfort for others who are struggling to sort out this issue in their own life.