So you know there are monumental times, when your life changes. The day you get married, the birth of your children, the loss of a parent. All of these moments cause your perspective of life to change. When first had to worry about one person, now you think about two, three, four, five or six!! When the last of your parents are gone, and all your aunts and uncles have passed on your position in the universe has shifted and now you are them. As long as they are around you are still someone’s child!
Well, my wife and I have experienced all the above, but there is one life shifting moment that we have yet to experience and that is the birth of our first grandchild! To me it seems that, that moment cements the we are them! If you read this blog last week you know that we are looking forward to March, when we will become grandparents!! Looking forward to all the spoiling we can do, spending time with our grandchild, caving into their every request, and then the thrill of it all, giving them back to their parents!!!
So over the last week, I’ve been thinking about Grandparent songs. I’ve already posted “Grandpa Tell Me ’bout the Good Old Days”. Others that swirl around in the jukebox in my head are “I’m My On Grandpa” by Steve Goodman. But that fits a post about genealogy, more than what I’m thinking.Then there’s “Grandpa Was A Carpenter” by John Prine. But I don’t “chain smoke camel cigarettes, or hammer nails in planks, and I sure as hell don’t vote Republican even though Lincoln won the war!
Then a song came to me that fits what I’m talking about Arlon Bennett’s “Just Like Them”. As I listen and think about this song, I hope that my son and eventually my other children think that my wife and I maybe “Showed” them how to live more than “Told” them how to live!! And maybe as they watch us, they will look and us and think, hey I’d like to be “Just Like Them” because I know I sure as hell remember back when, WE were “Just Like Them”!! Ready to enter uncharted waters and I must say after sailing those rough waters, we’ve navigated them pretty well and come out with four wonderful kids and a marriage that’s still strong! Here is a performance of “Just Like Them” followed by the lyrics…… The song is the first of three on the video, and the second song is one of my favorites, too. So check it out!!
He holds her hand
She holds his too
walking the sidewalk
just like me and you
Her hair is gray
His are few
For so many years they’ve seen
a promise through
They take their time
With forever on their side
and I hope we will be
just like them
just like them
They say hello
We say hi
Suddenly
an hour’s gone by
She was a nurse
He fought in the war
Tellin’ us about
the way life was before
In times less crazed
but how some things never change
And I hope we will be
just like them
just like them
Just like them
Braggin’ ’bout the kids
Just like Him
Takin’ care when she got sick
Just like when
He lost his job and she helped out
Just like them
Ain’t that what love is all about?
She says it’s late
It’s time to go
We hate to miss our
favorite TV show
As they walk away
I hear him say
Do you remember when we used to be
just like them
credits
from Summer’s Voice, track released 01 March 2007
Music & Lyrics by Arlon Bennett
