5 Songs — 071019 (Parenthood)

I don’t know what it’s like in your head, nor you mine. But we all share the burdened blessing of birth and the miraculous mundanity of existence, and we have parents of some description to thank or not. Many of us become parents, and so on.

Of the many ways I disappoint myself, my shortcomings as a parent are high on the list of failures. Perhaps I am not a bad parent, but I am certainly not the parent I had hoped to be. Maybe none of us are. With our oldest embarking on the good ship secondary school, our second daughter caught up in a failing support system and weighed upon by forces beyond our control (or hers), and the youngest being a charming bundle of Heisenbergian uncertainty, the worry grows daily.

I try to do better — to BE better. But I am still plagued by the flaws of mine which undermine proper progress. I love my kids so much and simply hope for them to be happy (most of the time), healthy (always), and kind (unfailingly).

This week’s playlist is songs about parents/parenthood. There are too many great songs on the matter for me to imply that this is any sort of top 5, but these are songs that have been loved by me. I have included myself not because I belong alongside illustrious company, but because this song is for my kids, and it will be when I’m gone.

https://open.spotify.com/user/etudebrute/playlist/0P0I3h9wsrV6uhPznvnUYk?si=P_5Nr1RLSDC61GNMnOtreQ

• Cat’s in the Cradle — Harry Chapin
• Landslide — The Dixie Chicks
• Father and Son — Yusuf/Cat Stevens
• Still Fighting It — Ben Folds
• All of Our Stories — Justin Capps