Kenny Loggins, "Celebrate Me Home"

Somehow I managed this holiday season to not hear "Celebrate Me Home" one single time. I'm remedying that now.

It's one of the most mawkish of Kenny Loggins's efforts, and that's saying a lot for someone who's easy to mawk. But I'm a sucker for every manipulation in it - the gospelly builds, the hush moment as the backing vocalists come back in, and most of all, that simple feeling of warmth and security that comes from being greeted home by loved faces. Hearing "Celebrate Me Home" makes me pine for the days when your family and friends could actually greet you at the gate at the airport. The beautiful drama of re-entry loses something in the yards and yards of that other kind of security.

I hope that as you read this entry and listen to the song, you can look back at a holiday moment when you saw someone you don't see often enough, and smile.

PS: I've been thinking that George Michael really could've sung the hell out of this one in his prime.