In that season ...

Dave Matthews Band was the soundtrack of my life for a season. But I had given up on Dave Matthews. I saw DMB headline one night at HullabaLOU a couple years ago, and, honestly, I wanted more Zac Brown Band, a newer favorite, than my old favorite. And, really, I haven't listened to Dave Matthews since. So when an old friend told me about a new Dave Matthews song he loved this weekend while we were reminiscing, I was hesitant. But "Mercy" is really good. Well done, Dave, well done. And reminiscing was good for my soul as I made new memories with old friends.

In that season, I was ready to move on but it wasn't time to leave my childhood home yet. Pick me up, love, from the bottom/Up onto the top, love, everyday/Pay no mind to taunts or advances/I’m gonna take my chances on everyday... So I befriended people who went to high school somewhere else. I worked with some of these friends. Others were friends of friends.

In that season, two guy friends loved to play DMB songs on their guitars. They were especially good at "Lie in Our Graves." When I step into the light my arms open wide/When I step into the light my eyes searching wild/Would you not like to be/Sitting on top of the world with your legs hanging free/Would you not like to be OK, OK, OK... 

In that season, a few of us went to concerts together, always listening to the songs we hoped to hear on the way there and the ones we loved the most on the way home. ... Celebrate we will/Because life is short but sweet for certain/We’re climbing two by two/To be sure these days continue/These things we cannot change ...

In that season, my best friend since fourth grade made new friends with me. We continued our inseparable ways, with songs like "Best of What's Around" playing in the background. Hey my friend/It seems your eyes are troubled/Care to share your time with me/Would you say you’re feeling low and so/A good idea would be to get it off your mind/See, you and me/Have a better time than most can dream/Have it better than the best/So can pull on through/Whatever tears at us/Whatever holds us down/And if nothing can be done/We’ll make the best of what’s around ...

In that season, we reunited when we all came home from colleges in Murray, Ky., West LaFayette, Ind., Carbondale, Ill., and Lexington, Ky. We emailed. We chatted on AOL Instant Messenger. We visited each other. I even suggested one guy friend call another girl friend of mine. He did. She approved. And they celebrated 10 years of marriage in April and spent this past weekend in Murray with us. Between us, we have four kids, two of whom are named Ben and will turn 3 within seven weeks of each other.

In that season, we made memories we didn't realize we'd be talking about 14 years later as we watched our kids play together in my backyard. ... It’s crazy, I’m thinking, just knowing that the world is round/I’m here I’m dancing on the ground/Am I right side up or upside down, and is this real, or am I dreaming? ... Details were fuzzy about some things, but other moments were oh-so clear. Google even helped us remember Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds played an acoustic show at Murray State on Feb. 20, 1999. And we were there, having no idea that concert would become part of the verbal timeline we re-created.

In that season, we had no idea what was ahead of us. ... Mercy, what will become of us/Oh, one by one, could we turn it around/Maybe carry on just a little bit longer/And I’ll try to give you what you need ...
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