Gloria

Today one of my coworkers played this song as a joke:

Gloria, you're always on the run now.
Running after somebody, you gotta get him somehow.
I think you've got to slow down, before you start to blow it.
I think you're headed for a breakdown, so be careful not to show it

You really don't remember, was it something that he said?
All the voices in your head calling, Gloria?
Gloria, don't you think you're fallin'?
If everybody wants you, why isn't anybody callin'?
You don't have to answer
Leave them hangin' on the line, oh-oh-oh, calling Gloria
Gloria (Gloria), I think they got your number (Gloria)
I think they got the alias (Gloria) that you've been living under (Gloria)
But you really don't remember, was it something that they said?
All the voices in your head calling, Gloria?

A-ha-ha, a-ha-ha, Gloria, how's it gonna go down?
Will you meet him on the main line, or will you catch him on the rebound?
Will you marry for the money, take a lover in the afternoon?
Feel your innocence slipping away, don't believe it's comin' back soon

And you really don't remember, was it something that he said?
All the voices in your head calling, Gloria?
Gloria, don't you think you're fallin'?
If everybody wants you, why isn't anybody callin'?
You don't have to answer
Leave them hangin' on the line, oh-oh-oh, calling Gloria
Gloria (Gloria), I think they got your number (Gloria)
I think they got the alias (Gloria) that you've been living under (Gloria)
But you really don't remember, was it something that they said?
Are the voices in your head calling, Gloria?

(Gloria, Gloria, Gloria, Gloria, Gloria)
(Gloria, Gloria, Gloria, Gloria, Gloria) ...

I love that song! I told her. And yes, it's cheesy. That's the point. It was the 80s, after all!

I Knew You Were Waiting

Besides being beautiful, this pool has the best music!

We flew out today, but not until 4pm, so we got to enjoy a swim -- one in the pool and one in the ocean -- before we left.

The pool my kids chose for the last swim was the bistro pool -- off the beaten path, and therefore not as busy. Plus, the radio is always blaring one cheesy favorite after another, and this morning was no exception:

Like a warrior that fights
And wins the battle
I know the taste of victory

Though I went through some nights
Consumed by the shadows
I was crippled emotionally

Somehow I made it through the heartache
Yes I did, I escaped
I found my way out of the darkness
I kept my faith, kept my faith

When the river was deep
I didn't falter
When the mountain was high
I still believed
When the valley was low
It didn't stop me, no, no
I knew you were waiting
Knew you were waiting for me

With an endless desire
I, I kept on searching
Sure in time our eyes would meet

Like the bridge is on fire
The hurt is over
One touch and you set me free

No, I don't regret a single moment
No I don't, looking back
When I think of all those disappointments
I just laugh, I just laugh

I may not be 100% entirely there, but I'm pretty darn close to feeling this way about my childhood, which makes spending time with my parents a billion times easier. This vacation felt easy about 98% of the time, which is pretty incredible.

It's been a long road getting here:

When the river was deep
I didn't falter
When the mountain was high
I still believed
When the valley was low
It didn't stop me

But while I know I owe a part of the relative ease with which I'm living these days to the healing made possible by really, truly loving and being loved, unlike Aretha and George, I'm not giving any love outside of myself all the credit:

I knew you were waiting
Knew you were waiting for me

So we were drawn together through destiny
I know this love we share was meant to be

I do know it was meant to be, this love I share with my New Englander. I know that it has made me like myself more, love myself more, be a better mother, a more avid reader, less defensive, more adventurous... the list goes on and on. But not faltering? Still believing? Not letting anything stop me on this long and winding healing journey?

All me, baby:

I didn't falter
I still believed
It didn't stop me