Back when I was painting Kyle's nursery, back when he was growing safely inside my body, I had moments of doubt: I often stand back and try to imagine what it will look like with a crib and a baby in it, and wonder if the baby will like it. What if he gets to be four years old … [Read more...]
Songs That Stab Me in the Heart: “Bridge Over Troubled Water”
Once upon a time, a boy played this song for me on a night I had received a crushing rejection. It was something that I thought would threaten my college career, financially speaking. I was devastated. Although I had grown up listening to Simon & Garfunkel, famously … [Read more...]
Songs That Stab Me in the Heart: “In My Life” by The Beatles
Okay, The Beatles. We are born, we grow up, we die, and there is always The Beatles. Their music is just there, like air, or water. For my parents, they were a Super Big Deal. For me, they just were. They were a 45 RPM record with an apple in the middle, a scratchy B-side called … [Read more...]
Songs That Stab Me in the Heart: “Baby Can I Hold You” By Tracy Chapman
I've been singing this lately as I clean, or fold clothes, or cut the 1,000th Box Tops For Education cardboard square. It's not exactly a happy working song, but I find it sort of soothing, and sort of sad. Years gone by and still Words don't come easily Like forgive … [Read more...]
Songs That Stab Me in the Heart: “100 Years” by Five For Fighting
Monday, PM You'll notice a trend in these songs. Many of them are about loss, or memories. Maybe it's my age, or the losses I have suffered, which by comparison to people around the world are tame. Maybe it's the weird place I'm in, creatively, professionally, personally. But … [Read more...]