The Best Day (for my mom on her birthday)

The Best Day
by Taylor Swift


I'm five years old and it's getting cold
I've got my pink coat on
I hear your laugh and look up smiling at you
I run and run
Past the pumpkin patch and the tractor rides
Look now the sky is gold
I hug your legs and fall asleep on the way home

I don't know why all the trees change in the fall
I know you're not scared of anything at all
Don't know if Snow White's house is near or far away
But I know I had the best day with you today

I'm thirteen now and don't know how my friends could be so mean
I come home crying and you hold me tight and grab the keys
And we drive and drive until we found a town far enough away
And we talk and window shop till I forgot all their names

I don't know who I'm gonna talk to now at school
But I know I'm laughing on the car ride home with you
Don't know how long it's gonna take to feel okay
But I know I had the best day with you today

I have an excellent father
His strength is making me stronger
God smiles on my little brother
Inside and out he's better than I am

I grew up in a pretty house and I had space to run
And I had the best days with you

There is a video I found from back when I was three
You set up a paint set in the kitchen and you're talking to me
It's the age of princesses and pirate ships and the seven dwarfs
Daddy's smart and you're the prettiest lady in the whole wide world

Now I know why all the trees change in the fall
I know you were on my side even when I was wrong
And I love you for giving me your eyes
Staying back and watching me shine and I didn't know if you knew
So I'm taking this chance to say that I had the best day with you today



This song always reminds me of my mom. And it should, I suppose, since it's a song for a mom. But it's SO us. I had a pink coat when I was 5 and I used to fall asleep in the car a lot. My friends and I were obsessed with the 7 Dwarfs, even through high school, so the mentions periodically of Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs are particularly poetic. And when I was in 7th grade there was a brief period where all my friends turned on me and wouldn't talk to me, etc. My mom wasn't the only one to try and help me feel better about that, but she helped. And I truly remember thinking that my daddy was the the handsomest and smartest guy out there and my mom was "the prettiest lady in the whole wide world."

I had a great day with my mom yesterday. She helped me take the kids to the pediatrician for Little Man's 4 month appointment, then we went and visited her office so she could get a picture of Fuss sitting at her desk, pretending to answer the phone like I did at a similar age. And then we went to lunch. The kids were well-behaved, lunch was fantastic and I loved hanging out with my mommy.

My mom isn't perfect, but she did a fantastic job being my mom (and pretty much the only parent with an active roll in my life growing up) and she is an even better friend to me now that I am an adult and have children of my own. My mom is one of my best friends and I am so happy to have her in my life.

Happy Birthday, Mama! I love you very much.