Over the weekend, while driving to the grocery store, I heard the song "Have It All" by Jason Mraz on the radio and started to cry.
Do you know the song? Just humor me and take a quick glance through the lyrics:
May you have auspiciousness and causes of success
May you have the confidence to always do your best
May you take no effort in your being generous
Sharing what you can, nothing more nothing less
May you know the meaning of the word happiness
May you always lead from the beating in your chest
May you be treated like an esteemed guest
May you get to rest, may you catch your breath
And may the best of your todays be the worst of your tomorrows
And may the road less paved be the road that you follow
Well here's to the hearts that you're gonna break
Here's to the lives that you're gonna change
Here's to the infinite possible ways to love you
I want you to have it
Here's to the good times we're gonna have
You don’t need money, you got a free pass
Here's to the fact that I'll be sad without you
I want you to have it all
Oh! I want you to have it all
I want you to have it
I want you to have it all
May you be as fascinating as a slap bracelet
May you keep the chaos and the clutter off your desk
May you have unquestionable health and less stress
Having no possessions though immeasurable wealth
May you get a gold star on your next test
May your educated guesses always be correct
And may you win prizes shining like diamonds
May you really own it each moment to the next
And may the best of your todays be the worst of your tomorrows
And may the road less paved be the road that you follow
I can think of a few reasons a person might hear this particular song on the radio and end up crying in a Giant Foods parking lot.
Some examples:
-a recent break-up or divorce
-the thought of dropping your child off at college
-learning that you have a serious illness
-a painful argument with a friend whom you love
While all of these are life situations that could lead someone to a pre-grocery shopping mini-breakdown in a car, not one of these life situations currently apply to me.
Nope - not one.
So, why was I ugly crying in my Scion?
Well, let me tell you: As "Have It All" started to play on the radio, I happened to see a 20-something guy slowly and patiently walking his elderly dog.
Did I know the 20-something guy? Nope.
Could I be be sure the dog was his dog? Not at all.
Was there a shred of evidence that he had gotten the dog when he was 8 years old...
and they have been best friends ever since...
through so many wonderful adventures...
and, while the dog is nearing the end of his life, their bond is as strong as ever?
Ummm...uh uh.
But, in my mind, all of this was true, and as "Have It All" played through my car speakers, it became this elderly dog's unspoken hopes and dreams for the owner he has loved forever.
It became the hopes and the dreams of the dogs I have known and loved through my life for me.
It became the hopes and the dreams of the dogs you have known and loved through your life for you.
It became the hopes and dreams of dogs everywhere for their persons, whom they love more than anything.
If dogs had the ability to call in to radio stations and make song dedications to their owners, I'm pretty sure they would all choose "Have It All" every time (and they would probably call in multiple times a day). It's the quintessential dog power ballad.
This thought, the thought of this aging, wonderful dog describing to his owner all he wants for him both now and when he is gone (gold stars on tests, prizes like shining diamonds, and unquestionable health and less stress), this thought delayed my grocery shopping indefinitely as I sat in my car and pulled myself together.
Am I over-thinking this song? Yes, probably.
Is this maybe a result of my upcoming 40th birthday and the fact that 9 out of 10 Youtube videos will make me cry these days? Possible.
That said, I challenge you to read through the lyrics above (or, better yet, ask Alexa to play it for you) from an aging dog's perspective and not cry.
Let me know how it goes.
45 minutes later, still recovering from the realization of how much dogs love their humans, I walked into our apartment with my arms full of groceries and was NOT greeted lovingly (or even acknowledged) by our cat, PJ.
She saw me walk in, but the sun was at prime sunning position and there were birds to watch.
If PJ had the ability to call in to a radio station and dedicate a song to me…well, she wouldn’t (even if she had the ability), so let me re-word that:
if PJ had to call in to a radio station to dedicate a song to me in order to get a treat, what song would she pick?
I give you, "So What" by Pink:
So, so what?
I'm still a rock star
I got my rock moves
And I don't need you
We need to get a dog.
Do you know the song? Just humor me and take a quick glance through the lyrics:
May you have auspiciousness and causes of success
May you have the confidence to always do your best
May you take no effort in your being generous
Sharing what you can, nothing more nothing less
May you know the meaning of the word happiness
May you always lead from the beating in your chest
May you be treated like an esteemed guest
May you get to rest, may you catch your breath
And may the best of your todays be the worst of your tomorrows
And may the road less paved be the road that you follow
Well here's to the hearts that you're gonna break
Here's to the lives that you're gonna change
Here's to the infinite possible ways to love you
I want you to have it
Here's to the good times we're gonna have
You don’t need money, you got a free pass
Here's to the fact that I'll be sad without you
I want you to have it all
Oh! I want you to have it all
I want you to have it
I want you to have it all
May you be as fascinating as a slap bracelet
May you keep the chaos and the clutter off your desk
May you have unquestionable health and less stress
Having no possessions though immeasurable wealth
May you get a gold star on your next test
May your educated guesses always be correct
And may you win prizes shining like diamonds
May you really own it each moment to the next
And may the best of your todays be the worst of your tomorrows
And may the road less paved be the road that you follow
I can think of a few reasons a person might hear this particular song on the radio and end up crying in a Giant Foods parking lot.
Some examples:
-a recent break-up or divorce
-the thought of dropping your child off at college
-learning that you have a serious illness
-a painful argument with a friend whom you love
While all of these are life situations that could lead someone to a pre-grocery shopping mini-breakdown in a car, not one of these life situations currently apply to me.
Nope - not one.
So, why was I ugly crying in my Scion?
Well, let me tell you: As "Have It All" started to play on the radio, I happened to see a 20-something guy slowly and patiently walking his elderly dog.
Did I know the 20-something guy? Nope.
Could I be be sure the dog was his dog? Not at all.
Was there a shred of evidence that he had gotten the dog when he was 8 years old...
and they have been best friends ever since...
through so many wonderful adventures...
and, while the dog is nearing the end of his life, their bond is as strong as ever?
Ummm...uh uh.
But, in my mind, all of this was true, and as "Have It All" played through my car speakers, it became this elderly dog's unspoken hopes and dreams for the owner he has loved forever.
It became the hopes and the dreams of the dogs I have known and loved through my life for me.
It became the hopes and the dreams of the dogs you have known and loved through your life for you.
It became the hopes and dreams of dogs everywhere for their persons, whom they love more than anything.
If dogs had the ability to call in to radio stations and make song dedications to their owners, I'm pretty sure they would all choose "Have It All" every time (and they would probably call in multiple times a day). It's the quintessential dog power ballad.
This thought, the thought of this aging, wonderful dog describing to his owner all he wants for him both now and when he is gone (gold stars on tests, prizes like shining diamonds, and unquestionable health and less stress), this thought delayed my grocery shopping indefinitely as I sat in my car and pulled myself together.
Am I over-thinking this song? Yes, probably.
Is this maybe a result of my upcoming 40th birthday and the fact that 9 out of 10 Youtube videos will make me cry these days? Possible.
That said, I challenge you to read through the lyrics above (or, better yet, ask Alexa to play it for you) from an aging dog's perspective and not cry.
Let me know how it goes.
45 minutes later, still recovering from the realization of how much dogs love their humans, I walked into our apartment with my arms full of groceries and was NOT greeted lovingly (or even acknowledged) by our cat, PJ.
She saw me walk in, but the sun was at prime sunning position and there were birds to watch.
If PJ had the ability to call in to a radio station and dedicate a song to me…well, she wouldn’t (even if she had the ability), so let me re-word that:
if PJ had to call in to a radio station to dedicate a song to me in order to get a treat, what song would she pick?
I give you, "So What" by Pink:
So, so what?
I'm still a rock star
I got my rock moves
And I don't need you
We need to get a dog.
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