11. We Do the Best We Can
INTRO
This album is me unpacking myself —
so my son can fill his days with joy.
I love my parents.
They did the best they could with what they had.
I'll keep what's good and leave the bad.
VERSE 1
Mom and Dad gave me the old bones.
I'm building something new.
Every day, I get a little softer.
I wipe my weary eyes.
My son breathes —
I watch his belly rise.
I used to hold my breath.
I learn from this little boy,
how to let the past rest,
how to let it fall.
He yells.
I yell back sometimes.
We escalate together, crossing lines.
Then I stop.
I get down low and say,
"I'm sorry I got upset.
That wasn't fair.
I'm learning a new way."
He hugs me. I breathe with him again.
I just need him to know I'm still here —
my love stays whole even when my head's unclear.
PRE CHORUS
I hope he questions everything — especially me.
(Question everything.)
I don't have it all figured out.
And I hope he knows that's okay —
to push,
to wonder.
CHORUS
We do the best we can with what we have.
Mom and Dad, I see them now —
they did their best through every fear.
I forgive them.
I forgive me too.
I'm just a mother learning to stay.
We do the best we can with what we have.
(With what we have.)
VERSE 2
I hope my son never loses his fire —
the way he knows what he wants,
his own desire.
The way he laughs with his whole body, lifts me higher.
I hope he stays passionate,
playful, creative.
Never quieting his soul.
That fire, even when it pushes against me,
it's a kind of beauty I'm learning to see.
The little one inside me is finally free.
Emotions are a gift — they're safe to feel.
I don't want to extinguish him.
I want to witness him.
He is my greatest teacher —
I grow when I listen to him.
His anger, his tears, his wild joy —
all welcome here.
My love will hold on even through my fears.
PRE CHORUS
I hope he questions everything — especially me.
(Question everything.)
I don't have it all figured out.
And I hope he knows that's okay —
to push, to wonder.
CHORUS
We do the best we can with what we have.
Mom and Dad, I see them now —
they did their best through every fear.
I forgive them.
I forgive me too.
I'm just a mother learning to stay.
We do the best we can with what we have.
(With what we have.)
BRIDGE
My parents loved me.
I know that now.
I'm learning to hold both:
the love and the ache, the rage and the repair.
Feel it through instead of passing it down.
CHORUS
We do the best we can with what we have.
Mom and Dad, I see them now —
they did their best through every fear.
I forgive them.
I forgive me too.
I'm just a mother learning to stay.
We do the best we can with what we have.
(With what we have.)
OUTRO
My son doesn't need me to be tough.
He needs me to be here.
So I'm here.
We do the best we can with what we have.
And today, I have him.
My husband said, "I'm sorry your heart is so sad.
You ought to call them sometime."
I don't know if I'm ready.
But I might.
(We do the best we can with what we have.)
