There’s a song that goes “I’m finding myself at a loss for words, and the funny thing is, its OK”*.

Such is life. The same can be said for experiencing the Grand Canyon. Hat number 11 of 27, save one, was acquired for just such a moment.

The year was 2010, and my eldest had recently graduated from high school and was preparing to go “off to college”. While tooling around the local Academy store a couple of weeks before the trip, I was tempted by what one might call a “sun hat”. You can type cast it: Khaki color, big round brim; you get the picture. Using our upcoming vacation and some time in the Grand Canyon as an excuse, I bought it: a bonafide “older man” hat.

There is a great line from Jack Sparrow, Captain Jack Sparrow, at the end of the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: …we’ve reached a very special place here: spiritually, ecumenically, grammatically. Then he looks at his friend, who is wearing something appropriate for the event, but a little out of character, and he tells him “nice hat”.

When you can be comfortable in your own skin, acknowledging that the best thing may not make you look as young as you feel or wish to be, and you suddenly sense the same comfort zone with your family and friends, you’ve taken a big step, toward “a very special place”.

Four years have come and gone. My eldest is no longer mine, having recently joined her beloved in holy matrimony, freshly minted degree in hand. The little guy in the great Grand Canyon picture is no longer a little guy, almost looking back at me eye to eye every time we meet, and his twin sister has grown frighteningly beautiful in her own right.

And once again, I’m finding myself at a loss for words. Time moves on, and so does life. I’ve spent the past 36 hours away from the land of Red Dirt, down south with my Dad as he draws near the end of his life, at least this phase of life we share on the planet that the Grand Canyon calls home.

As I look around tonight at my Dad’s “man cave” that doubles as a guest bedroom, I’m seeing a pretty impressive collection of hats. When they say the nut doesn’t fall far from the tree, they would be correct, at least in our case. And, as Captain Jack would say,…we’ve reached a very special place here: spiritually, ecumenically, grammatically.

It’s the place that I’m finding myself, even when words won’t describe the way we all feel.

Such is life. The funny thing is, it’s OK.

*lyrics by Mercy Me