Hello, Monday

So, I was going to weigh in on the Chick-Fil-A nonsense....But I am not feeling particularly insightful today; my strongly worded opinion, which will no doubt offend some, will have to wait until my brain can function on a productive level.

Instead I am doing something light & fun: I am linking up to Lisa Leonard's Hello Monday posting. Go check out her amazing hand stamped jewelry, accessories, & home decor. I love her work! 

My pictures for this Hello Monday's post are recent, random images from my phone. I am constantly driving my children crazy by shoving a camera in their faces. I love it.

Hello, DMB show night 2

 

Hello, Mama & big girl

Hello, searching for dragons

Hello, searching for GaGa & PooPoo

Hello, Lorax trees (aka, thistles)

                      

Hello, snacks & amazing fireworks show

Hello, vacation hangover at Aunt Helen's

Hello, rock stars & messy living room

Hello, sidewalk chalk paint

Hello, napping babies

 Hello, Bob the Builders

Chicken ranting will happen another day....

A Part of Me

The whole problem can be stated quite simply by asking, 'Is there a meaning to music?' My answer would be, 'Yes.' And 'Can you state in so many words what the meaning is?' My answer to that would be, 'No.'

Aaron Copland (1900 - 1990)

  

 

 

Many times throughout my life I have been asked "why" I listen to this song or that one, "why" I like this band. I've gotten more than a few raised eyebrows & the occasional look of pitied amusement when I tell people how my husband & I met (college band geeks). The quote above pretty much sums it up for me. Music just is.

Most of my favorite memories revolve around music. My first radio I could listen to any time I wanted. My dad singing with the radio & just staying on one note if he couldn't quite reach the higher ones (sorry, Daddy). My mom sitting on the living room floor playing her flute along with Led Zeppelin records. My grandma & her piano. Family sing alongs. KU Band Camp & the discovery of jazz. My first solo in front of a crowd at Old Settler's. Practically running, while trying to play, on the damn marching field because my legs are so short. Laying on Tom's floor in the dark, listening to whatever composer he put on the stereo. Introducing junior high kids to the wonder of Adagio for Strings. Mary Chapin Carpenter on the radio the first time I told my future husband I loved him. Listening to the boys at Step Sing & anywhere else a few gathered (my personal faves: the pirate song & that Viva song). That sweaty night in Ellis Hall. Ars Musica. Sometimes I will call a friend just to sing her part of a song we love; she always knows it's me. Johnny Hartman singing to my first baby in my belly & her calming to that same voice late at night. Luther Vandross singing to my second baby; she recognized his voice, too. 

 

The most important people in my life have come to me through our shared passion for music. There is nothing quite like   

witnessing someone so immersed in their music they simply forget the rest of the world. Hell, there's nothing like that feeling.

It's heartbreaking when the world loses someone like that; a passionate lover of music....

I believe with every ounce of my heart & soul it is up to us left here on Earth to keep that legacy, that passion, that fire for music alive & burning as bright as possible. 

 

 

 

I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my limbs and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music.

George Eliot (1819 - 1880)