Music Monday - A Family Tradition

Happy New Year, all!

CJ and I spent most of the week of Christmas in...very, very rainy California. My father-in-law kept saying "It's not usually like this!" and "If it keeps raining like this, you won't want to come back in December."

Meanwhile, we read innumerable books. CJ poked around on their laptop and I made friends with the cat while sitting in front of the gas fireplace. So, exactly like a Midwestern Christmas. Without the snow. Plenty of fog, though. That's the Bay area for you!

The cat was an inadvertent friend, I'll admit. I petted him once when he approached, and he kept coming back. Apparently he doesn't get much attention, so the first person to do so...I'm a sucker.

CJ's sister from New York (Twin #2) was in town, so we got to catch up with her a good deal. She's job-hunting, like so many are these days. Unlike some, she has a job offer. Whether or not she'll take it is the family gossip. Included in the gossip is her twin sister, who has a job and lives in California. The gossip on Twin #1 is when she'll get engaged. She and her boyfriend have been an item for about four years now. The sisters' 30th birthday is coming up in a month, so we'll see.

The day after Christmas (Boxing Day, to you Anglophiles), CJ's youngest sister and I went to a nail salon and got pedicures. It was my first time, and I enjoyed it. The color of my toes is now a dark wine color. I really picked the color because it matched my shirt that day. When I need to take the polish off, I'll call my sister. She's the expert on such things. :)

The trip to the salon is a tradition in CJ's family. His grandmother (Nana, for those that know) likes to give her granddaughters gift cards each year. She very sweetly included me.

What were some of the other traditions? Christmas Eve night at Nana and Bob's, then late church. Christmas morning at the house with just Mom and Dad L, the sisters, CJ and me to open presents. Then off to Grandma B (mom's mom)'s for brunch and opening more presents (but mostly watching the youngest cousins go crazy over theirs). Then home for a short break, then over to CJ's aunt (his dad's sister) and uncle's house for Christmas dinner. Oh. My. Goodnessgraciousdinnerwasdivine. Randy is an EXCELLENT cook. And because this is California, all these comings and goings involved a good amount of wine. And mimosa for breakfast, and etc.,etc., etc.

My favorite family tradition, though came on the way home from Christmas Eve service. CJ made a joke that he stayed in the Midwest partially out of embarrassment. My FIL agreed, and told me that he (CJ) used to hunch down in the car when they were leaving church. One of the girls had an old CD that a friend had made years ago. The sisters belted, and I mean BELTED out the song three or four times on the way home. Sissy, they reminded me of the two of us. I would have sung louder, only I don't know the words to the song, only to the chorus.

Whatever you strive for this year, give it your all. Belt it out! Sing it, or dance it, or paint it, or write it!

-BR

Music Monday - Monarchy Version

Okay, so I had planned on dedicating this post to Advent in general, then...world news prevailed. Congratulations to the British royal family (and William and Catherine in particular) regarding the news of their expected heir(ess?), coming sometime next year!

Coming much sooner is the much-anticipated, ever-hopeful anniversary of the arrival of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He was not satisfied being His Father's only Son. He insisted on dying on the cross and rising again so that we might be heirs, too.

Sola Dei Gloria.

And yes, this is from King's College, Cambridge. Enjoy.

So, For A Teaser...

Life intrudes. Work, sleep, church activity, write, grade papers (CJ), walks, getting sick (both of us), work, sleep, etc., etc. etc.

I'm sorry I haven't posted anything for awhile. Sometimes it isn't because there's nothing to say; it's that there's too many words and the ability to write them down won't coalesce around an idea.

Until today. No, this isn't the blog post for it. I'm at work, and needing to finish lunch break, so it will have to wait. But here's the teaser for the blog post: it's about a new country song about a merry-go-round, another blogger's musings about the trials and tribulations of young mothers, and my trip to Germany in 1999. And dreams. Not the kind you have when you're sleeping, the other kind.

Oh, and just for L, my sister-in-law R's mom, I had store-bought spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. CJ had yoghurt, because he has an ear infection.

Enjoy the last of November!

Music Monday - The Boys (and Girls) Of Fall

There is a slight whiff of chill in the air tonight that wasn't there this weekend. The leaves are turning quickly, threatening to slide straight from green to the ground.

Another sign of the season.

Today is Monday, which for most people is back to work. But I'm typing this in the evening in the autumn, which for many Americans means one thing: Monday Night Football. It's on at our house right now. CJ is a Bears fan; it is a product of a decade lived in the rarefied air of Chicago. He's not optimistic about their chances against the Cowboys in Texas. This does not make him a fair-weather fan - it makes him a Bears fan. But this post isn't about the Bears. Or football really. Not professional football, that is.

This past Friday the local high school celebrated its homecoming. One of the big events was the annual football game. (Our town's team won.) It brings back memories of fifteen years ago, when I was in high school. A lot of things have changed from then - the kids now have cell phones that do everything, instant information via the internet, YouTube, etc. But some things haven't changed.

Before school starts in August, the boys are out practicing. Two times a day, multiple times a week, in sometimes murderously hot weather. Running, tackling, blocking, passing, rushing, figuring out the plays. Coaches slapping heads, yelling, blowing the whistle. Soft encouragement sometimes is needed too. A pull to the side. You can do this.

The football players are not alone. The soccer players, boys and girls, are running and playing too. At my high school, girls' tennis was a fall sport. And cross country. My sport.

I was crazy.

You have to be some kind of crazy, or at the very least not thinking very much, to run cross country. Running five kilometers in nearly all conditions, jostling elbows, lungs screaming, sweat streaming into my eyes, why-the-hell-am-I-doing-this, slogging through the pain to the finish line, girls in purple jackets yelling and cheering. Stop. Pant. Walk. Pant. Pant. Put hands on head. Pant. Pant. Pant. Coach's voice in my head: Don't let them see you hurt. Who wants to see me hurt? The other team? That voice in my head that says you can't do this? Someone hands me water. Pant. Sip. Pant. Spit. The air is coming slower now. The heart beats less frenetically. Deep breath. Done.

The worst part for me was never the finish. It was the start. The buildup, the anticipation. The open races were so crowded that there was little room to even put a foot forward.

Everyone would be doing the last moment stretches, jogs in place, quiet chatter to friends. The approach to the line. Deep breath, it's almost time. Find a spot wedged in between teammates. Good-natured elbow nudges. Look down at the ground, see the couple inches of grass or dirt visible beneath all the shoes. Set.

The hanging moment waiting for the gun. It's hot/humid/freezing/raining/sleeting, the Buckeyes are playing and I'm missing the game (again), man I coulda slept in this morning, oh listen to the birds in the distance (insert blackberry joke here), where is Mom standing, why am I doing this again!?!?!?

BANG.

Bumping, clawing, stretching out the stride, careful around the first corner, get some space, find my rhythm.

And do it again the next Saturday.

I miss it.

They are out there now, this season in this year. Innumerable girls and boys running against the clock. Against a rival. Against themselves. Kenny Chesney didn't sing this song for us, or for them.

"When I feel that chill, smell that fresh-cut grass..."

It comes back to me. But I don't think it ever left.

Sunday Afternoon

Cleaned the bathroom and used the new Swiffer on the kitchen, living room, and bathroom floors.

Took out the trash.

Downloaded more music from Itunes.

Waiting for chicken wings to get done.

American football on TV, soon to be followed by English (and to be fair, everywhere else) football.

Looking out the window and enjoying the fantastic weather.

At home with my husband CJ.

Autumn is here.

Life is good.

Music Monday - For When It's Just...Monday

For some reason, today was just blah. There's a meeting I need to go to tonight, and I don't really want to go, but I know I'll regret it if I don't. (Voters' meeting at church - to call a new pastor. Not really something a regular member should miss.)

So two posts tonight. This is a song from 2001 that really resonated with me then, and still does. In the fall semester that year, everyone was dealing with the aftermath of 9/11. And on a personal note, my best friend from high school was put into a drug-induced coma (long story) because her doctors couldn't figure out how to treat her. She eventually recovered, but that was not a three-month period that I look back on with fondness.

It's almost like the hard times circle 'round
A couple drops, and they all start coming down
Yeah, I might feel defeated, and I might hang my head
I might be barely breathing, but I'm not dead, no
'Cause tomorrow's another day
And I'm thirsty anyway
So bring on the rain

And another, just because.

Have a good week, everyone! One day at a time. There, I feel better already. :)

A quick note

I'm back, or to be more accurate, we're back. After moving, double ear infection misery, more moving in temperatures closer to hell than I want to feel in a long while, family time, rehearsal dinner with grandpa wine, Wedding Day (!!), day-after-wedding-and-getting-the-phone-call-offering-CJ-a-job excitement, packing and throwing away more of my junk, CJ squeezing time to work on his classroom, us flying to LA, me attending SCBWI conference (good times!), both of us cruising up the California coast in a red Ford Mustang convertible, returning to the Midwest, moving MORE stuff into our cute-but-cramped apartment, and nearly finishing the second week back at our jobs (mine old, his new)...deep breath, we're ready for some downtime.

Seriously.

And once we get the internet set up at our new place, you can once more enjoy my eclectic taste on Music Mondays. That should be within a week or so, but I just wanted to let you all know that I'm not gone forever. And there's plenty of words left to write. :)

Happy Friday, all!