Atypical & Awesome, “That Song”

The floodgates opened and I cried like I have never cried before. Christopher Cross singing THAT song just a few feet away from me. I had held it together until that point. I made it through “Sailing” which was a special and iconic song to see performed live and took me straight back to 1980. I thought the tears would come when I heard the opening piano to, “The Best You Can Do”. Afterall, it’s became my unofficial anthem since Autumn moved to New York. He raised the energy of the room and ended the night with, “Ride Like the Wind”. Or so we thought.

No warning. No intro. Just him at the mic singing THAT song. He would leave us with THAT one. The tears came and they came hard. It is no secret to those who have known me for a while that I am a therapist for kids- specifically, teens dealing with trauma and grief. This song has a connection to that path for me.

I lost a good friend in a terrible boating accident when I was in the 5th grade. I had no idea how to process that grief. I cannot tell you how many times I listened to, “Think of Laura” (THAT song) during that time in my life. Through many years of growth and healing I knew my journey would include helping kids process grief. For the past fourteen years, this has been my mission.

This song helped me get to this point. It’s simplicity and Christopher Cross’s vocals provided me with such incredible comfort during a really, really hard time. When I saw him live Thursday night at the Montgomery Performing Arts Center, he sang it right there boldly and in such a pure way. All those years (41 this month) of pain and sadness and confusion came out and I cried profusely. He gave me a moment of catharsis. I am so grateful I had this experience.

Music touches people. Songs touch people. Songwriting heals- the writer and the listener. Thank you, Christopher Cross- for THAT song.