I do not cry often. I like to think I'm pretty tough, actually. Music, though, is sort of my weak point. Sometimes I'll hear a song that will make me stop what I'm doing and just lose it - like sobbing, sniffling, wiping spit off my face bawling. It can be really embarrassing, struggling to hold it together when I hear one of my trigger songs out in a public place.
There is a song on The Decemberists latest album The King is Dead called "This Is Why We Fight" that always gets me. Every. Single. Time.
It speaks to me as a woman who struggled to hold a family with no real foundation together long enough to create a base that would sustain us. It speaks to me as a mother who has had to fight to do what's best for my daughter, to protect her. It speaks to me as a wife and partner to a man that at times seemed as though was being wrenched from me by all the powers in the universe.
Come the war
Come the avarice
Come the war
Come hell
Come attrition
Come the reek of bones
Come attrition
Come hell
I think of the moments that felt like hell was just a breath away. It takes me to the moment that J looked at me and told me that I had to push the baby out right now, right now. I think of the moments on the floor, crying silently while my child slept, scared out of my mind that she wouldn't have the stability for a decent childhood, and that it was entirely out of my control.
This is why
Why we fight
Why we lie awake
And this is why
This is why we fight
When we die
We will die
With our arms unbound
And this is why
This is why
Why we fight
Come hell
I see my daughter, I see my husband, and I know without any doubt that every moment of it was beyond worth it. I know that there is not one thing in this world I wouldn't take on for them. Every hurt, every tear, and grasp that feels like it could be the last, I would do it all a million times over for this family of mine.
So come to me
Come to me now
Lay your arms around me
And this is why
This is why
We fight
Come hell
The love of a mother and a wife, fully devoted to her family, can stand against anything. There is strength here that I do not believe can be matched by anything in the world. The love of a family that truly appreciates a woman like this is absolutely the greatest reward that exists in all the world. When your child comes to you unbidden and tells you she loves you, when your husband/partner shows you how loved and appreciated you are every moment, everyday, there is nothing more worth fighting for.
As mothers, as women - this is why we fight.
There is a song on The Decemberists latest album The King is Dead called "This Is Why We Fight" that always gets me. Every. Single. Time.
It speaks to me as a woman who struggled to hold a family with no real foundation together long enough to create a base that would sustain us. It speaks to me as a mother who has had to fight to do what's best for my daughter, to protect her. It speaks to me as a wife and partner to a man that at times seemed as though was being wrenched from me by all the powers in the universe.
Come the war
Come the avarice
Come the war
Come hell
Come attrition
Come the reek of bones
Come attrition
Come hell
I think of the moments that felt like hell was just a breath away. It takes me to the moment that J looked at me and told me that I had to push the baby out right now, right now. I think of the moments on the floor, crying silently while my child slept, scared out of my mind that she wouldn't have the stability for a decent childhood, and that it was entirely out of my control.
This is why
Why we fight
Why we lie awake
And this is why
This is why we fight
When we die
We will die
With our arms unbound
And this is why
This is why
Why we fight
Come hell
I see my daughter, I see my husband, and I know without any doubt that every moment of it was beyond worth it. I know that there is not one thing in this world I wouldn't take on for them. Every hurt, every tear, and grasp that feels like it could be the last, I would do it all a million times over for this family of mine.
So come to me
Come to me now
Lay your arms around me
And this is why
This is why
We fight
Come hell
The love of a mother and a wife, fully devoted to her family, can stand against anything. There is strength here that I do not believe can be matched by anything in the world. The love of a family that truly appreciates a woman like this is absolutely the greatest reward that exists in all the world. When your child comes to you unbidden and tells you she loves you, when your husband/partner shows you how loved and appreciated you are every moment, everyday, there is nothing more worth fighting for.
As mothers, as women - this is why we fight.