Root Beer Floats

November 7, 2009 at 3:13pm

Dust falls into the familiar water
As I let her go free to a place of great memories
Summers of swimming
riding in the boat across the lake
the reward of the best root beer float awaits you
on the other side of the water
you can taste the sweet mixture of ice cream and the dark taste of the root beer
two improbable ingredients found together on a warm summer evening
the flavor you enjoy is like all simple pleasures in life
when you are young the wonder of the concoction erases everything in a moment in time
you are there more present than you’ll ever be
unspoiled by wanting to know the recipe
the taste makes you see the whole day in reflection
the score at miniature golf didn’t matter
the lost ball in the lake is already a memory
As the sweet taste of root bear and ice cream makes you pay attention
To a moment in life where your worries are only part of a grown ups reality
Funny but you can never seem to find that same taste in any root bear the rest of your life
For it’s existence is not how it is made
But what you put into the experience of taking it in
I didn’t realize this fact until a year after my mom went to visit the angels
I sat down on a bench next to my three children making a mess of themselves
Their attentions wrapped in a smile on a warm July night
I looked up at the sky and saw stars
I could feel my mom looking down on her three grandchildren and my wife and I
With that same look of joy
I smiled back at her in the sky and felt a pang of remorse and sadness
Until I knew she had joined my three children fully engrossed in their floats
We all smiled and I took a long sip
It’s funny it tasted just like the root beer floats on the lake
And I didn’t need a boat to get there just a better understanding
Of the most important ingredients.