The Grammys were on TV last Sunday night. Normally the family gathers around the tube and watches the show, but not this year.

My daughter had a boatload of homework to finish and decided to make that her top priority. There's a failed paternity test for you. I would have put off my studies, watched the Grammys, and pulled an all-nighter — or in the case of a 12-year-old — a first-thing-in-the-morning.

As a reward for her good decision-making, and showing little judgment on my part, I gave a shout out every time one of her favorite singers hit the stage. Notable performances included Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift reminiscing about being "Fifteen," Carrie Underwood lamenting her new "Last Name," and Jennifer Hudson thanking the world in song for "Pulling Her Through."

Most impressive though were the performances that crossed genres and generations, reminding us all that artists, more than politicians and prophets, often offer the best examples of living in harmony.

After the show and long after my daughter hit the sack, it dawned on me that the artists on the Grammys were not the only ones who crossed genres and generations on that night. My daughter and I were doing the same thing, in real time.

Like most fathers, family is central to my life and my daughter may be the epicenter. Marriage changed my world a little bit, but not nearly as much as fatherhood.

Still, up until now my daughter has lived in my world. Like her father, she believes that it is better to repair than replace; every day is Sunday when it comes to lousy drivers; quiet time and family time can happen at the same time; and Tiger Woods can do just about anything short of walk on water.

But an amazing thing happened on Grammy night. My daughter and I shared a musical world. I knew her favorite artists and watched as she gushed over Taylor Swift and Coldplay. She in turn smiled as I hummed along with U2.

The best part though, was when Justin Timberlake and Boyz II Men joined the Rev. Al Green on stage for a rousing rendition of "Let's Stay Together." The best got even better when later in the evening The Jonas Brothers and Stevie Wonder punched out "Superstitious." Falling just short of a changing of the guard, it was at the very least a seal of approval from one generation to the next.

I now find myself doing for my daughter what my musical heroes are doing for their successors. I am letting her know it will soon be time to cut her own path rather than following the path of Mom and Dad. This will be her world, made up of her choices. It may start with music, but it doesn't end there.

I suppose this is the order of things. Children enter their parents' world only to find that it is in fact shared. Then years later those same parents leave their children's world and the pattern is repeated across the generations. This is a golden time for the two of us; she is looking forward to a future I can't even imagine and I am already guilty of looking back, but we are also looking around, for each other, enjoying the moment and the sweet harmony that crosses genres and generations.