Hello 1985. I haven't seen you in a while
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
There is a saying that has been floating around the universe that goes something like "The Song Remembers When."
I think being almost ancient (as my son put it this morning) I would have to agree.
The opening riff for this song immediately transports me back to the summer of 1985. What a great year that was. That riff sends me right back to the front steps of my dear old high school. I was fourteen and I spent that summer taking a summer Biology class.
It was a great summer.
I was furious, actually, at my Mother for signing me up for that class, but it ended up being the highlight of my summer. We took a field trip every single day and I saw and learned things that I never would have had I not been in that class. An entire summer hanging with my friends on a bus for five hours a day. What more could a kid ask for?
I saw Tears for Fears that year in concert. My parents dropped me off at Park West and I met up with some friends and we had a glorious time rocking out. (who does that? drop their kid off at a concert for the wolfs to eat?)
The opening riff reminds me of my teenage self-- the dreams I had for myself and what I "wanted to be when I grew up." If the fourteen year old motherboard could see me now, she would point and laugh manically. I wanted nothing to do with being domestic or motherhood.
The base in the song allows me to see that I was grounded. I had been taught the ways of the world, but how to not be of the world. My parents did a good job of letting me spread my wings and fly. I landed flat on my face a lot, but they were always right there to pick me up, dust me off and toss me in the air again. I wanted to fly, but I always knew where my ground was.
I hope I can be the same with my children.
I love this song. It reminds me of my youth, my innocence. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and give my younger self a heads up. "Don't do that; stay away from him; take this class. not that one. Stop worrying about others, and make your own entertainment. Be confident- you are an amazing kid!" I wouldn't necessarily want to repeat it all again, but if I could repeat it for a week or two with what I know now? I think I would.
I was talking with an old friend recently and he pointed out how it had taken him years to realize that those few short years of teenage-dom didn't need to define who he was today.
That is so true.
So, while my younger self might cringe in horror to see that I have become the antithesis of what she wanted, I can look her in the eye and truthfully say "It is so much better than you ever dreamed."
I think being almost ancient (as my son put it this morning) I would have to agree.
The opening riff for this song immediately transports me back to the summer of 1985. What a great year that was. That riff sends me right back to the front steps of my dear old high school. I was fourteen and I spent that summer taking a summer Biology class.
It was a great summer.
I was furious, actually, at my Mother for signing me up for that class, but it ended up being the highlight of my summer. We took a field trip every single day and I saw and learned things that I never would have had I not been in that class. An entire summer hanging with my friends on a bus for five hours a day. What more could a kid ask for?
I saw Tears for Fears that year in concert. My parents dropped me off at Park West and I met up with some friends and we had a glorious time rocking out. (who does that? drop their kid off at a concert for the wolfs to eat?)
The opening riff reminds me of my teenage self-- the dreams I had for myself and what I "wanted to be when I grew up." If the fourteen year old motherboard could see me now, she would point and laugh manically. I wanted nothing to do with being domestic or motherhood.
The base in the song allows me to see that I was grounded. I had been taught the ways of the world, but how to not be of the world. My parents did a good job of letting me spread my wings and fly. I landed flat on my face a lot, but they were always right there to pick me up, dust me off and toss me in the air again. I wanted to fly, but I always knew where my ground was.
I hope I can be the same with my children.
I love this song. It reminds me of my youth, my innocence. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and give my younger self a heads up. "Don't do that; stay away from him; take this class. not that one. Stop worrying about others, and make your own entertainment. Be confident- you are an amazing kid!" I wouldn't necessarily want to repeat it all again, but if I could repeat it for a week or two with what I know now? I think I would.
I was talking with an old friend recently and he pointed out how it had taken him years to realize that those few short years of teenage-dom didn't need to define who he was today.
That is so true.
So, while my younger self might cringe in horror to see that I have become the antithesis of what she wanted, I can look her in the eye and truthfully say "It is so much better than you ever dreamed."
