"In the streets of Summerday
Trust the night and trust the day
Sun and moon of Summerday
We are pilgrims in the land between religions
We are following our children
And we paint in different colors every day
And if we're true to our hearts they will grow up and want to stay
We will work beside them as they build modest houses
And on a misty April morning we'll rest the shovels on the fence
And die and become a summer day"
-Dar Williams from Summerday on the album Promised Land
In an interview, Dar Williams discussed her song Summerday. She got her inspiration from the earth-loving neighborhood she is a part of. They all grow their own food in their yards, trade ideas, and have dinner parties with their homegrown food. It's just a beautiful song and it inspires me to do more than just having a tomato plant in a bucket. True, our yard is not huge, but I can work with the small space we have.
The line that really hit a chord with me is "And if we're true to our hearts they will grow up and want to stay". I don't know if she means "stay" as in the children will come around and visit their parents often, or "stay" as in they will want to stay on this earth. Either way, this is something I think a lot about as a mom (as I am sure many other moms do). I pray and hope so often that the boys grow up and live beautiful lives. I don't just want them to be happy, I want them to THRIVE.
A wise friend of mine said something important to me when Ethan was a baby and I was fretting about all the awful things that could happen to him in his life. She said, "He has a God watching over him and it is not you." It sounds a bit harsh when you first hear it, but really it is comforting to understand that I can be an awesome mom because my kids (and all kids) deserve it, but there are forces much stronger than me in this world that will affect my children and only God completely knows what is in store for them, good or bad.
