Brave

Hi. My name is Kelli... and I listen to Top 40 radio. 

Wow, how things have changed. To be honest, I don't even enjoy the top forty stations all that much, but sometimes I need a break from answering questions or whining or crying while I'm in the car so I blast some tunes. A while back I found that if I sing along to the music that comes on, both of my kids are quiet. I don't know if its just the music they like or if they actually like that I sing along. Who cares. I do it. Often. And I do it to songs by teeny boppers and hipsters because well, their stuff is catchy. Whatevs.

Zachari Jane and I really like Brave by Sara Bareilles. Today we found the video on YouTube and its so fun. Wouldn't you know that I sat there on the couch watching as Zachari was on the floor in front of me dancing and singing to her heart's content and I was crying? I mean like visibly crying, almost gonna make noises kind of a cry! Why? I was filled with so much joy and pride for the little girl I get to help raise in this world. She is amazing. She's funny and smart and caring and wise and a great dancer with a sweet little voice who just loves to love. I want her to be so confident in who she is and how loved she is that she can be like one of the people in the video. I want her to dance unabashedly in public and march to the beat of her own drum. I want her to stand tall with her head held high. The lyrics of the song are great. My girl is brave. My girl is going to be one who stands up for others and helps take care of them. She'll be a total game-changer in this world. She shows us all the time how big her brave is. I'm in awe.

So yeah. I listen to the song with her sometimes and we shout out the lyrics and when I do, tears roll down my face. Its alright. It fills me with such love and joy. My girl is awesome. How in the world do I get to be her mama?

You can be amazing
You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug
You can be the outcast
Or be the backlash of somebody’s lack of love
Or you can start speaking up

Nothing’s gonna hurt you the way that words do
When they settle ‘neath your skin
Kept on the inside and no sunlight
Sometimes a shadow wins
But I wonder what would happen if you

Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave...

Everybody’s been there,
Everybody’s been stared down by the enemy
Fallen for the fear
And done some disappearing,
Bow down to the mighty
Don’t run, just stop holding your tongue

Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live
Maybe one of these days you can let the light in
Show me how big your brave is

Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave

And since your history of silence
Won’t do you any good,
Did you think it would?
Let your words be anything but empty
Why don’t you tell them the truth?

Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave