The Third Road

My father turned seventy-nine this year
So I called him, so I could hear
That he loved me
And that he always will
He said he just could not understand
How a boy turns into a man
And then gets older
And then gets older still

That seemed like a funny thing to say
Coming from a man known for his quiet ways
And as his son I share more with him
Than just his name
So I really couldn't be much help
'Cause I ask that question a lot myself
And I bet if I asked
You do the same

When you look in the mirror at your face
You see a different person from a different place
With still different hopes
And different dreams
It's not that things are all that bad
But you didn't know and you wish you had
There weren't two roads to follow
There were three

One well-traveled like Frost once said
The other one, with a lot less tread
But what he didn't know: There's one in between
A road in the middle of the other two
Means that all three roads are walked by you
Like a ghost
Did you just arrive or did you just leave

It's full of holes and rocks and things
Makes the going real hard
It makes the devil sing
The road in the middle is the hardest of the three
Some people call it the twilight zone
Some people simply call it home
It's a road you get used to after a while
Don't you see

It takes a strength of will, hope, and faith
A sense of humor is what it takes
I'll walk along with you
You can walk with me
Step by step, day by day
Year by year, all the way
We'll promise to tell each other
What we see

I know one day we'll come around a bend
There'll be great big sign, it'll say "The End"
I only hope it was worth the effort
That we made

My father turned seventy-nine this year
So I called him
So he could hear
That I loved him and that I always will