Ours

In the past, I've had some mixed feelings about Taylor Swift.  I have lots of positive things to say: she's a great song writer and she's (so far) a positive role model.  I'm thrilled to have such a major, young star staying out of trouble and seemingly making good choices.  Just hoping she doesn't let me down...

On the other hand, I have had some serious questions regarding her ability to sing on pitch during live performances.  She gets the most improved award in that area because lately she sounds WAY better.  She either got some excellent voice lessons or a really, really good auto-tune microphone.  I also have a smallish issue with her winning all the big time awards over some of my other country boys that I think deserve it.  But that's another story for another day!

She does have some pretty nifty songs, and I especially like her song "Ours".  It's a catchy tune, and that's all well and good, but it actually made me stop and think.  When I first heard the chorus, I said, "Well now, ain't that the truth". (I think I actually even said it out loud.)

Here it is:

So don't you worry your pretty little mind
People throw rocks at things that shine
And life makes love work hard
The stakes are high, the water's rough, but this love is ours

Originally, it was that third line that got me.  Life makes love work hard.  Maybe I'm just waist high in some deep thinking, but it's true.  It just is.  Life is hard.  But love is worth working for even when it's not easy.  

So I thought about that line for a while, especially when I heard the song on the radio.

Then one day, Parker and Claire heard it too and asked what the second line meant.  We had a good discussion about jealousy and how people sometimes act.  That was a few months ago.

After Parker's Stinkbug program at school, he mentioned that another little boy said some ugly stuff to him the night of the program.  That other little boy just happened to be one of the others who was really wanting the role of Stinkbug.  I'm really not sure the boy even meant the comments because it sounded kind of like a joke, but Parker took it seriously.  As we were talking about it, he said, "You know what, Mommy? He threw rocks at things that shine".  He wasn't saying it in a bragging way at all, just realizing that it was probably rooted in jealousy.  I thought it was kind of funny how that way back discussion stuck with him.  I just hope when the tables are turned, Parker and Claire choose to encourage and not tear down.  I need that lesson myself too.  Jealousy can be such an ugly thing whether you're six or thirty-six.