The Music that Defines My Heart

"Don't you know you are my everything. And don't you know you make my heart sing. You've turned my world inside out. Now I know what life is all about. And it's you that I can't live without ..."
-Stretch Arm Strong "For Now" - from the album "Rituals of Life"

*Note* - The above lyrics are a little out of context of the rest of the song, but looking at the quotation above, those exact words, are my exact thoughts when it comes to my children and family, put to ROCKING music.

Today I am following (to a degree) a format of a series of posts seen recently on the blog of @JRReedradio ... Sex and the Single Dad, about music that defines his life. Stretch Arm Strong, as a band, the lyrics, the music, have always had a very profound impact on me. From the time I first listened to them, until right now as I listen to them while I write this. From the first time I saw them live, to the last, just before I moved to Virginia, they have had so much of an impact on my life, more than the members will ever know.

I was listening as I was thinking about topics for upcoming posts, and the above quote came out of my tiny laptop speakers, and just echoed through my mind as I sat and thought about my children. Those words, those exact words, that exact quote, is the written example of everything my children are to me, and the impact they have had on my life.


I first heard that song my 11th grade year in high school. A very rough year for me mentally and spiritually (an experience I will be writing soon). In fact, my US History teacher was a guitarist for Stretch Arm Strong. I bought the 'Rituals of Life" album not too long after the start of the school year. The music was new to me, but the lyrics were strong. The album that would later start to define some of who I was at the time, and the lyrics that would guide me and give me strength in dark times. To this day, they are the most influencial band I listen to. And those lyrics? Those lyrics will forever define a lot of my thoughts for the people in my life.

My children are my everything. My life was turned upside down, shaken up, and set on a completely different path when they came into the world. My heart just sings, and it sings loudly, with love for them. People ask the ultimate question all the time: "Why?". And the ultimate answer: "Because I love my children, and it is all I know". My love for my children, the driving force behind everything I do, because it is the only thing I know. (now, let us not forget the Wifey. My love for her echoes just as loud as my love for my children. She is my world, my rock, and my heart.) My life is my family, and it is all I know.