ca. 1990
In the not so distant future
In a not so distant place
A child finds a word
Which leaves a blank look on her face
It's a word she's heard not of
One unlike any other
She still cannot define it
Even after asking another
She grabs a dictionary from the shelf
And fumbles for that word
A word which she cannot pronounce
Of which her teacher has never heard
Then when she finds the entry
The definition seems so unclear
But she knows the word means something
Perhaps something sweet, something dear
The word she finds is "family"
A word unlike any other
One which refers to relatives
Especially father, mother, brother
But its meaning must be deeper
There must be something more
Was it happy, kind, and loving?
Was it fun and not a bore?
And so she craves to learn
Why it is not here today
Where is this thing called "family"
And why did it go away?
In the not so distant future
In a not so distant place
With questions left unanswered
The word vanishes from her face
Dr. Ryan C. MacPherson is the founding president of The Hausvater Project. He lives with his wife Marie and their homeschool children in Casper, Wyoming, where he serves as Academic Dean and Professor of History and Philosophy at Luther Classical College. He previously taught American history, history of science, and bioethics at Bethany Lutheran College, 2003–2023. For more information, visit www.ryancmacpherson.com.
