The Best Day

Tell me something, when you get hooked on a song, do you start by loving the music, and THEN the lyrics, or do the lyrics grab a hard hold of your heart and pull you right into loving the tune?

For me, its usually the song, and then I realize I love the words too. But not this time. I bought a new Taylor Swift album, and was listening it to the first time when these words fell softly over me like a welcoming rain, and I fell deeply in love with this song. In fact, its the one you are hearing right now, on my blog. Its about mothers and daughters, and its so beautiful. Its a daughter singing about her mother. It makes me want to cry. And draw my children to me and hold them close on the couch. I don't know why exactly, except somehow it makes me feel wonderful and terrible all at the same time. It makes me search my past, my present, and my future with my precious children.

I want to be such a good mommy, and stumble along doing whatever I can. But I fail. Sometimes I could just kick myself, when at the end of the day I realize I have not been gentle enough, or patient enough, or at some point I completely lost it over something dumb. I forget to really "hear" what they are saying, and I want to really get it, you know? I want to remember what its like to be ten and twelve, and put myself in their pink polka dotted shoes, so I can truly understand. To climb a tree with them, to hear their thoughts from their point of view. To climb into their tent in the backyard at night, and listen to their secrets about boys. To feel the tender aches that they feel, and to remember how vulnerable they are to my sighs, frowns, or admonishments. To give out more praise than points to ponder.

We sure have some great times together. They are some of my favorite people. Nobody can be as silly as I am, except my children. They get me. I hope and pray that when they are all grown up, they will look back, as I do in my memories with my mother, and treasure those off beat moments of us just being us.

I am crazy about my three children, and someday, I hope they will say they had the best days with me.

The Best Day

I'm five years old its getting cold I've got, my big coat on
I hear your laugh and look up smiling at you I run and run
past the pumpkin patch and the tractor rides look now, the sky is gold
I hug your legs and fall asleep on the way home

I don't know why all the trees change in the fall
I know you're not scared of anything at all
don't know if Snow White's house is near or far away
but I know I had the best day with you today

I'm thirteen now and don't know how my friends, could be so mean
I come home crying and you hold me tight and grab the keys
and we drive and drive until we find a town, far enough away
and we talk and window shop 'till I forgot all their names

I don't know who I'm gonna talk to now at school
but I know I'm laughing on the car ride home with you
don't know how long its gonna take to feel okay
but I know I had the best day with you today

I have an excellent father
his strength is making me stronger
God smiles on my little brother
inside and out he's better than I am

I grew up in a pretty house and I had space to run
and I had the best days with you....

there is a video I found from back when I was three
you set up a paint set in the kitchen and you're talking to me
its the age of princesses and pirate ships and the seven dwarfs
and daddy's smart and you're the prettiest lady in the whole wide world

now I know why the trees change in the fall
I know you were on my side even when I was wrong
and I love you for giving me your eyes
staying back and watching me shine and didn't know if you knew
so I'm taking this chance to say that I had the best day with you today