Lucky

My mom tells me I've loved Bon Jovi for a long time. She remembers me at two or three years old singing along with her while we cleaned the kitchen together. I actually knew the words. It's funny that music holds some kind of memory or connection for all of us. We could go weeks, years even without hearing a song and still remember every word. Bon Jovi has a lot of my memories. I remember singing to "Livin' on a Prayer" with my mom and dad in the car, or "Have a Nice Day" with my sister while we cleaned our room. I remember "Lost Highway" playing on our computer while we packed up our Salem house to move to Parowan. "Keep the Faith" got me through midterms this semester. In every stage of life, Bon Jovi has been there somehow. And though marriage has made my life a little different, that fact hasn't changed. 

Just a few days ago, Jake and I sat in the nosebleeds at the T-mobile arena in Las Vegas to watch Bon Jovi on his new tour, "This House is Not for Sale". My heart was beating so fast. I saw someone live that has been such a large part of my life, and he has no idea. I had goosebumps the entire time and my throat was sore and voice hoarse by the time the concert was over. It was just as amazing as I ever imagined, and it reminded me of a lot of great memories. A specific memory comes to mind.  

​One Bon Jovi song stands out from the rest, it's lesser known, in fact it's just a bonus track from Bon Jovi's Album "Bounce" that wasn't even released originally. I remember sitting in my dad's silver Chevy Cavalier singing "Lucky" at the top of my lungs. Shelbey and I were going to check the mail. It was always an exciting trip because we'd yell "Punch it Chewy" like Han Solo and my dad would step on the gas. We'd laugh and laugh, and I'd realize I was lucky. 

I was doing the dishes yesterday, a chore I've neglected lately. I found one of our backup forks in the sink. Jake had to use one because somehow the two of us go through all eight of ours before one of us gets to the dishes. I laughed. I'm Lucky.

He got home from work earlier this week and I was so excited I waited by the door when I heard his car pull up. I scared the crap out of him but he hung on to me anyways. I'm Lucky.

He brought me a Diet Coke at work today, and then stayed to drink half of it with me during my break. So Lucky.  

I'm lucky baby. 
So lucky baby. 
Lucky to be with you today.
Lucky to be the one to say
I'm lucky. 

And I am. 

Jake and I both have Bon Jovi memories now. He held my hand at that concert. He learned all the songs from the new album and my favorites from the old ones. He watched me with a big smile while one of my dreams came true. He drove me all the way home with the heater way too high while I slept. On the way home from the concert he woke me up to tell me he wanted to say the nicest thing he'd ever said to me. After a little thought he asked me to get back to him once he had a minute to come up with it. I assured him he didn't need to say anything. I already knew. I'm lucky. So lucky. And I'm happy.