We've Got Bills To Pay, And We've Got Nothing Figured Out

Liz reminds me of the purpose of silly pop songs all the time. They are a broad-stroked canvas of the emotions we feel and experiences we have. And whereas the exact notes and colors may not be illustrated in a specific song, sometimes, they capture a mood and a feeling and a place in time much better than descriptions of those actual things ever could.

This song is a perfect case in point to this theory. Liz told me I needed to listen to this Taylor Swift song, because she felt it was perfect for my life right now. I know, Taylor Swift. But, she threw it on a cd, and I listened to it on my drive home from Red Bank yesterday. I've listened to it five more times since then, and every time that bridge comes, the verse about the fight, and the resolution, I start to cry. For real. Tears of recognition and of joy. Liz told me that this song began making her cry when Christopher and I got together. I guess she knew, too. The events are totally different, but the feeling, and the arc, is all about my love story right now. A potential joy playlist contender. Two stubborn, independent people falling in love and forging forward. And that piece she sings about, coming back to those initial moments ("sitting there by the water...") when it gets really hard, forcing yourself to remember what was good and wonderful and special, so that you wake up each morning and make that choice to stick with this person. Christopher and I get this, and we do this, and we relish every tiny moment of joy we have together because we know when it gets hard, someday, because it will, those moments will sustain us and pull us through it. The willingness and the hope and the tenacity is there, all in front of us.

So, Taylor, and Liz, thank you for giving us this song. It is perfect.



Mine - Taylor Swift

PS: The video is a bit much. Maybe. But I haven't taken the cd out of my car yet, and this was today's song. :)