Friday, January 09, 2009

OK, I'm a sap



I watched Mama Mia on DVD a few nights ago. In the first scene with a bunch of girls giggling and one of them breaking into song, I was horrified and worried that I'd just entered a pre-teen sugarland.

But I forged ahead, and ended up really enjoying it. The actors and actresses were obviously having a lot of fun, particularly Meryl Streep and her two buddies. I never thought I'd see James Bond (aka Pierce Brosnan) break into an ABBA song - but the oddness of it actually made it funny and fun, and you could tell he was enjoying it.

What most surprised me was when I started crying, really crying, listening to Meryl Streep sing "Slipping Through My Fingers" as she got her daughter ready for her wedding. Whaddya know, I've become a Dad. My daughter is eight, and each day I watch her grow up and grow up with a combination of joy, pride, and deep sadness, because I see her needing me less and less, becoming more and more her own person. A time will come when she won't want to snuggle at night, or give me a hug goodbye in the morning, and then one day she'll be off.

Now I know each transition is both letting go of something and welcoming something else. But it doesn't stop the sadness, and this song really triggered it for me.

I listened to it again just now (see the clip below) and I thought, what a sappy song, but at the time, it was a perfect reflection of my own mixed feelings about my dear one growing up.



You can find the lyrics for the song here.



NB: For those of you wondering about the Caution tape at the A's stadium, it was Fireworks Day and we were out on the grass getting ready to watch the fireworks.

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