“How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat yer meat?” Dan, sitting in the car next to me, belting out his least favorite song lyrics. “Pink Floyd songs creep me out.” I glance at him, headphones resting around his neck, giving him the ability to immediately tune out the world (specifically me) if he feels the need. I think of the many times we’ve listened to music together over the years. It’s something that has connected us on both fun and meaningful levels. We love music. We share similar taste in music. We can disconnect from our worries, as we recognize that we both battle anxiety and share a tendency to worry excessively about things out of our control.

Starting when was just a little boy, he found great comfort in music. We would jump in the car on a moments notice and take rides, sometimes as far as Mackinaw City, listening to “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” on repeat. I cherish those days. My eyes well up with tears as I think of him graduating from high school in just a few short weeks. I wonder how the time flew by as it did. I’ve wrapped the last 18 + years of my life around him. We’ve been thicker than thieves. I think I am more worried about how I will face this milestone than how he will.

He’s young, he’s adaptable, He’s smart. He’s got his whole life ahead of him. And we’ve learned a lot of good lessons through the songs we’ve listened to together over the years. In the words of one of our personal faves, Tom Petty, “Most things I worry about never happen anyway.”

We pull in the garage after a quick shopping trip. A small segment of “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas comes on. Dan promptly brings it to my attention, telling me we can’t go in yet….”these are your favorite lyrics, mom” …”All your money won’t another minute buy.” I put the car in reverse and we go for a short drive to hear the song in its entirety. No truer words have ever been written.