A Familiar Voice

My parents had company tonight...friends from out of town that I have not seen since I was a little girl. It's so nice to hear them laughing together. I am sitting in the other room and listening to their conversation. What I am enjoying the most is listening to my dad's voice. For some reason, I am reminded of myself as a young girl. I remember being sent to bed at bedtime and just sitting at the door or with my ear to the floor, listening to traces of conversation from my parents as if what they were saying was the most important thing in the world. I remember falling asleep on the couch listening to them talk with relatives or with other friends. I remember sitting in the backseat on long car rides and listening, listening for what was important...soaking in the lessons of relationship and familiarity. I didn't realize until tonight, that it has been a long time since we have all just sat and talked together. It must have been comforting back then to hear the conversations of my parents, because it is comforting to me now. I am hearing pieces of their lives I do not hear in everyday conversation. I am remembering pieces of them that I love.