He Still Holds My Hand

Over the years, your grandfather has become
What my grandmother would call 'ornery'
He says he won't do this
Or he won't do that
Because he's old now
Except when he says it
I can tell he's been waiting his whole life
To get old so he could use that as an excuse
I remember him saying it when we were young

'God, I can't wait until I'm old so I don't have to do all this nonsense with you anymore'

Because I'd drag him dancing
Or hiking, or camping
Or into touch football games
With your Mom and aunts

'I thought,' he'd say, 'That when I had girls I could avoid physical activity of any kind.'

He paid for that little comment
Instead when your Aunt Janice took up boxing
And used him as her sparring partner

I was always the adventurous one
And he was always the one lagging behind
But there was something sort of funny about it
So I didn't mind too much

He could complain as much as he wanted
As long as he went ahead and got on the roller coaster
Or into the shark cage
Or onto the rock wall
Or--well, you get the point

As long as he held my hand, I didn't care
I didn't care at all

Now, your Mom told me that you're not sure
Whether or not you should accept Bryan's proposal
Because he's not crazy enough for you
Those are her words, not mine
He's not crazy enough

It's breaking her heart, you know
That you won't marry him
And he'll say 'Fine'
And end up with some boring girl
Who'll stay home with him on Saturday nights
Watch PBS and eat cottage cheese out of the container

And I want to tell you that would be a loss for both of you
Because people like Bryan need someone like you
To help 'em live
And people like you need someone like Bryan
To keep from thinking you can skip the skydiving training
And just get right on the plane

The important thing is that he's there for it
For all of it
Maybe he complains, but some people give you a 'Yes'
And then never show up

Enthusiasm you can fake
Support you can't

Your grandfather never pretends he's as exciting as I am
He just goes along for the ride

And I'm glad I got to go on this ride with him
Because when I need him
He's there

Even after all these years
He still holds my hand

Does Bryan hold your hand, honey?

Yeah, I had a feeling he does

So let him keep holding it

Thrill-seeking guys come and go
But a man who knows you're crazy
And loves you anyway

That's something
You never want to let go of