There are songs that move the mountains and stars, and capture a moment forever.
1997:
Paul and I are laying side by side on the desert sand. We're in sleeping bags, along the banks of a reservoir. (This is called "beach camping" when you live in Arizona). The sky is a black stretched canvas, and the stars watch us as we rest.
I hold Paul's hand, as I have for the last eight months. With his hand in mine, I feel an overwhelming sense of rightness and serenity. I hear from a neighboring campsite the unmistakable tone of Bruce Springsteen: "She'll let you in her house/If you come knockin' late at night."
My eyes fill with happy tears and I know--I just know---that I will spend the rest of my life with this man.
I know that the rest of the song is about boundaries and barriers, but the part that remains sacred is how I let Paul into my house, and how it is complete because of him.
Today
I met my friend for coffee. On Saturday morning, she and her husband are traveling to China to pick up their son. They loved him before they knew him, and they will meet him for the first time and take him home.
He's five. He's beautiful. When I look at the pictures of this young man, I can't wait to see him smile, or climb on the playground, or roughhouse with his brother and sister. I can't wait to see him run to my friend when he needs a hug.
Soon he will be in his forever home.
As I drove away from the coffee shop, a song popped in my head, the same song that ran through my head in the days following both Owen and Joel's respective births.
Neutral Milk Hotel sings:
What a beautiful face I have found in this place
That is circling all round the sun
What a beautiful dream that could flash on the screen
In a blink of an eye and be gone from me
Soft and sweet, let me hold it close and keep it here with me
I send love and good wishes to my friend as she departs to finds her beautiful face in China.
And I'm reminded again of my own beautiful dreams. Soft and sweet, I hold them close, and keep them here with me.
***
What are the sacred songs that capture a moment for you?
13 comments:
aaww....
We don't have any. :(
How exciting! A baby from China!! We thought about adopting when we were having a hard time conceiving. Took us almost 5 years, but here she is!!
Aww very sweet that you and your husband have a song.
Nice post! The Gingers I babysit have a cousin from China, the parents adopted her when she was about 11 months old, a real cutie!
Music is so very powerful! Sometimes I don't know that I've filed a piece of music away as sacred until I hear it and am instantly punched with that poignant (did I spell that right?) feeling....
Now I have to look up that second song!
My song for my son and I is "You Belong to Me."
"Accidental Babies" by Damien Rice hit me hard at one time in my life.
"Head Home" by Midlake is what I love right now.
A country song that I sing to myself on days when I need a boost or when my children are acting like wild aliens:
You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now...
But you're gonna miss this
Traveling Soldier by the Dixie Chicks. For some reason, I listened to it over and over the day before I went into labor.
Don't get me started on songs, I won't stop.
What a great post!
I love the connection you have with your hubs. Truly special.
Even more special that you recognize and treasure it. ;)
I have soooo many songs that are sacred, too many to mention.
But, they are always so powerful when I hear them.
I'm excited about the adoption too. You'll have to share more when they return.
In the meantime, my husband insists that I love for him to sing, "Who are you, oot, oot, oot, oot." Every Thursday night when we watch CSI...and we watch it from the DVR so we could skip this, but no.
I love the story of beach camping with your husband. How exciting for your friend. Life can be really good sometimes.
oh, i love this. you made me gulp. i can't think now of a song to share, there are so many.
When i was young for some reason the Eagles song with the line "I want to sleep with you in the desert tonight..." reminded me of my dog Buddy. That's weird, huh? I probably shouldn't be sharing that. But I just LOVED that dog.
Definitely have a song to go with almost every significant moment in my life.
Which is why this post is just great for me.
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