This is a song that Dylan and a boy he met in treatment wrote in 2018. He was at Family First Treatment Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, the first long-term treatment facility he had been to since all of this started in 2016.
This center is significant to me as it was the first “Dr. Phil” – type rehab he went to. I also asked for financial help to sustain him there (something I never do, prayed about, and was overwhelmed by the response of support). It meant so much to us! (and also blasted us in the face at how impossible it is to afford good treatment in this country).
Lance and I made the long trip (by car) to join in 2 days of family therapy there. It was wonderful to see my Dylan, bright-eyed, alert, and enjoying his new friends. At one point, all of the parents were visiting the boy’s home to have lunch and we all sat in the living room while Dylan and his friend performed this song. Mind you, because of the gunshot wound, he has only 4 working fingers to play his guitar, something that never stopped him from learning. I was glowing with pride that day 🙂
I’ve shared this song with a few people and they all had their own interpretation of its meaning. I personally like to hear it as a 17 year old boy, in treatment, after almost 2 years of self-destructive behavior, looking in the mirror and wanting him-SELF back. Ahhh, the joys of analogy, symbolism and perception 😉
Enjoy.
Mama in Pain 