Song For Those Who Have Left Their SM

Yes, I’m still standing, like Sir Elton says. I’m going to add another song that helped me to keep standing.

If I ever get the chance to meet Don Henley, I will personally thank him for writing this song. When it first came out during the Eagles’ hiatus, I just gotten out of an intense relationship, and my heart was broken. It was my first really serious relationship. What made it worse was my ex gf was a good friend before we dated. And no, sex was not a problem in this relationship. I heard this song, and it helped put the relationship into perspective. I called her, and we talked. We agreed to be friends again. When we talked about the boyfriend-girlfriend part, both of us had the same phrase - “Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.”

It was in the past, where it belonged. I even set her up with one of my friends. When my wife needed a medieval dress for a concert, I knew my ex gf made medieval outfits. She had a dress for my wife and even altered it for her. We’re not close anymore, but we do exchange messages on social media. I did talk to my wife about the ex gf. I told her that if you appreciate me as a husband, you owe that woman some thanks.

I listen to this song now, and think of my late wife. She was a parasite to me before she died. After her death, she became a saint. Now I can look back on our time together more realistically. She was somewhere in between. It was a little more than “been there, done that, got the T-shirt” with my wife. But listening to to this song helps. Lose the resentment. Forgive. And take whatever good that was there and the lessons learned to your next relationship.