Met my old lover in the grocery store
The snow was falling christmas eve
I stole behind her in the frozen foods
And I touched her on the sleeve
She didnt recognize the face at first
But then her eyes flew open wide
She went to hug me and she spilled her purse
And we laughed until we cried.
We took her groceries to the checkout stand
The food was totalled up and bagged
We stood there lost in our embarrassment
As the conversation dragged.
We went to have ourselves a drink or two
But couldnt find an open bar
We bought a six-pack at the liquor store
And we drank it in her car.
We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness
But neither one knew how.
She said shed married her an architect
Who kept her warm and safe and dry
She would have liked to say she loved the man
But she didnt like to lie.
I said the years had been a friend to her
And that her eyes were still as blue
But in those eyes I wasnt sure if I saw
Doubt or gratitude.
She said she saw me in the record stores
And that I must be doing well
I said the audience was heavenly
But the traveling was hell.
We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness
But neither one knew how.
We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to time
Reliving in our eloquence
Another auld lang syne…
The beer was empty and our tongues were tired
And running out of things to say
She gave a kiss to me as I got out
And I watched her drive away.
Just for a moment I was back at school
And felt that old familiar pain
And as I turned to make my way back home
The snow turned into rain — Dan Fogelberg
This is one of my favorite Christmas time songs. No one ever seems to understand why. For some reason this year, this song hits home much more than usual. I guess I am just hitting an age where you start thinking of past friendships that no longer exist, and wishing to reconnect with old friends. I am sure that some of this comes from being on Facebook recently, and actually getting back in contact with people that I haven’t seen in over 15 years.
This song makes me think of of how great things used to be before I had the responsibilities of work and kids and family. Like staying up all night with the girls watching horror movies, hanging out on the weekends wondering what to do next, lying about your age to see rated R movies, and having some of the best ice cream. It seems as you get older these things lose something. Staying up all night watching movies and talking is harder to do, Disney replaces most other movies, and ice cream just isn’t as good as it once was.
Up until a few days ago, I was really looking forward to Christmas. Now, I am just trying to maintain. Hopefully, by tomorrow morning I will be back into the holiday spirit.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
