When somebody loved me

My son Ben, 17, loves Jessie, the red-haired cowgirl from Toy Story.

If left to his own devices, he'll surf the internet to listen to her soulful song, When Somebody Loved Me, over and over and over again.

We may hear it in English, or Spanish or Portuguese.

He will proclaim his love for Jessie (I love Jessie, he'll sign).

Why was Ben so drawn to this song, I wondered. But listening to the lyrics, I think it's somewhat of  a metaphor for Ben's life.


When somebody loved me,
Everything was beautiful
Every hour we spent together lives within my heart
And when she was sad,
I was there to dry her tears
And when she was happy,
So was I
When she loved me

... So the years went by
I stayed the same
But she began to drift away
I was left alone
Still I waited for the day
When she'd say I will always love you

Lonely and forgotten...


I wonder if, like Jessie in the song, Ben feels the ache of staying largely 'the same,' while everyone around him grows up and drifts away.

He had friends at the elementary school he went to. But they've all progressed at an amazing pace and he wasn't able to keep up. They'll soon be graduating from high school and going off to college.

If only Ben could live in a world where the rules were simpler and no one got left behind.