THE FATHER/DAUGHTER DANCE

Only played three songs this weekend, but Oh what a treat it was! I met Katie Hastings and her family when she was thirteen. She is thirty now, and over the years Siobhan and I have become quite close to her family and her. About a month ago, she emailed me and asked Siobhan and me to play the father/daughter dance at her wedding. When she went off to college, her father secretly left behind in her dorm room a copy of the lyrics to “Forever Young.” She decided this would be their father/daughter dance. However, instead of a recording of Bob Dylan or Rod Stewart, she wanted to surprise her dad by having Siobhan and me play the song for them. Well, her surprise worked. Jim, her dad, not known for displaying his emotions, was blown away, and I was glad Siobhan and I were able to be the catalysts. Originally scheduled to only play “Forever Young,” we were asked to come back later in the evening to play two of our songs, favorites of the Hastings family. Jim and Margie, Katie’s parents, were celebrating their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary the next day; so, we played “Seasons with You,” one of Margie’s favorites. We followed it up with “When You Were Cute and I Had All My Hair,” a history of the Hastings family, and probably a history of many contemporary families in America. Much thanks to Katie and Matt for including us in their special day!

In reflecting, we will probably never play a father/daughter dance again, but it got me to thinking about all the various ways we have brought joy to the lives of people through music. We are so grateful to be able to do this, and we hope we can continue to do it for a long time. We are also grateful for all the wonderful friends we have met through music. Thanks for being in our lives. You’re the best!