Andrea Swift and Gayle DeLong: A Mother’s Love

"I don't know why all the trees change in the fall

But I know you're not scared of anything at all

Don't know if Snow White's house is near or far away

But I know I had the best day with you today"

Sing the words of Taylor Swift in her song The Best Day, a beautiful song about the amazing relationship she had with her mother. Over ten years after Fearless came out, and it’s still one of those songs that makes me cry like a baby. And believe me, not a lot of songs make me feel that way.

Why do I feel so emotional, you may ask? Because it reminds me of the relationship I’ve had with my own dear mother. Throughout my life, my mother has been my rock. She was there to support me through all the thick and thin, reminding me that, regardless of all of my issues, “I am smart, funny, talented, charming.” (At least when I’m lucid, anyway.) I’ll have to admit, sometimes it was hard to support me at times, like, when we got into pretty nasty/brutal fights, and believe me, we could get into fights a lot. But at the end of the day, even she could agree that I loved her dearly. And, even though she could sometimes get kind of annoyed about my pop culture interests, popular music was something we could always bond over, and she (ua I had even made a mixtape of all the popular songs she enjoyed from the radio, which yes, included the songs “Love Story,” and “You Belong With Me” to make her feel better after a particularly awful day. And yes, it worked!

Ever since I found out Taylor’s mother was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, her music has only touched me even more. My mother has been having a similar battle, diagnosed in 2014, and often feels very weak and frail at times. I can only imagine the pain and discomfort Taylor’s mother had been feeling at this time, when her own daughter was not only a famous celebrity but one of the biggest household names of the Top 40 music scene, not even 30 years old yet. (She was named Forbes' "30 under 30" in 2012, at the tender age of 22. Nuff said.)

Now, I’m barely even out of the house yet, let alone anywhere near Taylor’s level of fame. When I was a teenager and had (literally) nothing better to do, I’d often obsess over wanting to be her, or at least “like her”- which, believe me, also drove poor Mom nuts! And now, in a sense, I do feel as though I’m going through a similar struggle to her’s. My parents even got a little concerned that I was exploiting Mom’s illness just to feel like Taylor Swift, just because I was constantly putting her Mom's picture on Mom's desk. Parents are funny like that.

Regardless of how terrible the tension at home can get, when the chips are down I’m (almost) always supportive of Mom. She was recently hospitalized for her illness, and I put all plans (Hanukkah party, running club) on hold just to make sure she was okay. And, knowing her, I’m pretty sure Taylor Swift would’ve done the same thing with her concerts. Well, unless it wasn't practical, anyway.

To quote the “secret code” (Every letter of the quote is capitalized) of “The Best Day” “God Bless Andrea Swift, and Gayle DeLong, two amazing women supporting their daughters every step of the way, helping me blossom into the amazing young women they are.