One of the many good things about having children is that you go through the learning process again, only this time with more experience and (one hopes) more wisdom. The ideas and lessons that were so challenging then, sound simpler now, if not always achievable. It’s amazing for me to think about, but my eldest will be in kindergarten, a “children’s garden,” before too long. She has grown so fast!
Tonight I played Elmopalooza! for the kids and got to hear the Ernie and Shawn Colvin duet “I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon” (this version isn’t the Colvin one, sorry). It’s a song about traveling and exploring, but always coming back to the places and people you love. In an America where children and parents often move away in search of employment, this song sounds particularly poignant to me. It is a great paradox that Naperville, a city rated one of the most family-friendly in the United States, ranks below average in Illinois for the length of stay of its residents. While my nine years is far above average, I’d love to have my children come home here after “a wish on a star.”
So if I should visit the moon
Well, I’ll dance on a moonbeam and then
I will make a wish on a star
And I’ll wish I was home once again
Though I’d like to look down at the earth from above
I would miss all the places and people I love
So although I may go I’ll be coming home soon
‘Cause I don’t want to live on the moon
No, I don’t want to live on the moon
Post a Comment