The story of a man accepting the final advice his grandma has to offer

Song was originally going to be a portrait of an elderly friend of mine who has inspired me to continue writing. But as songs do sometimes, this one took on a life of it's on and mutated into this present form,

Met a lady in a restaurant
her hair was grey
her face was gaunt
but her eyes sparkled with the life
of a new morning
somehow I knew there was magic there
when she said
come on son
pull up a chair
let me tell you a little tell
and without warning

she took out an old portfolio
said there's some things I'd like to show you
snapshots old and tattered and some brand new

she said

the pictures of my life aren't perfect
you can see by the tattered edges
the journey that has brought me here to you
hasn't always been a box of candy
but I always kept my camera handy
to remember every step was tried and true
and life is filled with imperfections
so these images give me reflection
to know life's not what you have but what you do
they're the pictures of my life

you see there's a shot of my daughter kim
she's really bright
just a little too thin
sh grew up with a dream to be a lawyer
so I worked two jobs cause we lost her dad
he's the funny one there in that ole straw hat
now she works a farm out in Rabun
with her husband Mike Sawyer

I told the child it don't worry me none
she gives me lots of smiles and two grandsons
most of life ain't our goals but the journey anyway

she packed up her life and left that morn
gave me a gift
ancient and torn
a picture of her-just a child
with her whole family
tucked it into my shirt and left that place
my grandma's words
my grandma's face
that memory stuck in my heart
and in my pocket

that night when mom gave me the news
grandma's soul had left-her spirit flew
I didn't regret a single tear I shed

because the

the pictures of my life aren't perfect
you can see by the tattered edges
the journey that has brought me here to you
hasn't always been a box of candy
but I always keet my camera handy
to remember every step was tried and true
and life is filled with imperfections
so these images give me reflection
to know life's not what I have but what I do
they're the pictures of my life