Foreshadowing

Photo by Jason of Backroads Photography

Music speaks to me.

It has a way of seeping into my very being, expressing emotion that words alone cannot.

There are a few songs that bring me to tears because of memories they evoke or emotions they express. One song that brings me to tears every time is the song For Good from the musical Wicked.

It expresses the influence of a friend's presence in life and how truly powerful friendship can be.

So, to those of you who are that kind of friend to me - the kind that cross the boundary of friends into family... and the family I am lucky enough to call my friends (and I hope you know who you are) - thank you for being in my life.

Because I know you, I have been changed for good.

Reunited

...and it feels so good!

This one's a long story (longer than a blog post should be) so I'll just sum it up:

• I gave up playing the guitar and gave it away.

• I missed it a little. (Maybe a lot.)
  

• I got it back today.
  

• We're happy to be together again.

The End.

(Don't you love happy endings?)

Ready To Fly

A couple years back Allen and I went to a Richard Marx concert with some family. We saw it advertised and thought it would be fun to relive the memories of those classic 80's songs! It was also fairly inexpensive as it was held at a smaller outdoor venue that was just one city over.

We went with almost no expectation except for the hope that he would play a good number of the old songs we had all known as teenagers. We were not disappointed - his rapport with the crowd was amazing and he played every song we could remember as well as a few of his more recent compositions.

One of his newer songs, Ready To Fly, struck a chord with me. It speaks of the power we each have inside - one that often goes untapped. I loved the message in the lyrics as well as the music that accompanied it.

Ready To Fly by Richard Marx
I've been trying to open the door To the secret of my destiny
And every new road I think is the one Seems to lead right back to me

I've looked for a way to be wiser A way to be strong
Now I see the answer was hiding In me all along

Chorus:
And I'm ready to fly Over the sun
Like a rocket to heaven And I'm ready to soar
Right through the sky Never dreamed I'd find something to lift me so high
I've always had wings But I wasn't ready to fly

Restless, hopeless, and misunderstood
Like so many others I know
So busy tryin' to keep holdin' on When I should've been letting go

I was given the gift to find it The spirit inside me
But I never really imagined All I could be

Chorus:
And I'm ready to fly Over the sun
Like a rocket to heaven And I'm ready to soar
Right through the sky Never dreamed I'd find something to lift me so high
I've always had wings But I wasn't ready to fly

The answer to all of my wonder Was right in my hands
Now it's time for me to discover All that I am

Chorus:
And I'm ready to fly Over the sun
Like a rocket to heaven And I'm ready to soar
Right through the sky Never dreamed I'd find something to lift me so high
I've always had wings But I wasn't ready to fly

I've always had wings Now I'm finally ready to fly

Why I Love Kids

Sunday is not always my favorite day of the week. I go to church every Sunday without fail because it is where I need to be and where my family needs to be and I want my kids to know that. I do not ever regret being there, but it is still not easy.

For one, I have to get 9 kids out of bed, fed, dressed, and looking nice before 9:00 a.m. This includes finding the (often secret) location of 9 pairs of Sunday shoes. (Oh, the drama of the Sunday shoes!) And discovering, 15 minutes before church, that Coolister's white shirt has not been washed since last Sunday. And it has a large spot on it. Then when we get to church and are seated on OUR bench (5th row up, thank you) someone is already making someone else cry or remembering that they forgot their scriptures or needing a drink...

Etcetera.

Yesterday was the usual.

I dragged Curly to nursery and left her there, crying, because I already had Baby O in tow for Hubba's primary class and could not wrestle with them both. I sat in our assigned row in the primary room, checking to see if all of my class members had arrived, and noticed Hubba was ramming the chair on the end of our row into the chair in front of him.

I removed the chair.

SuperC, one of my little students, tapped me on the leg.

SC: "Sisto Bwack?"

Me: "Yes, SuperC?"

SC: "That chay-o needs to stay wight they-o."

Me: "Well, Hubba is playing with it. Would it be alright if I left it on the stack over there?"

SC: (exasperated) "I guess."

In the meantime, someone is asking the kids if they have done anything fun in the last week. Hubba's hand is up, but he is not getting called on, so he yells out, "I GOT TO TAKED MEDICINE BECAUSE MY TEEF ARE ROTTEN!"

I smile nervously, shrink down in my chair a bit, and think about how excited I am for that little tidbit of information to make its rounds.

Oh, the joys of Sunday I think to myself.

And then the primary music leader asks all of the teachers to come up and sing a song to introduce it to the kids. It is from the hymnbook, "How Firm a Foundation".

I take my place up front and sing along with the others, watching my class and starting to feel a little warmth gather around my heart when I notice they are all watching me intently and smiling.

When we finish singing, SuperC raises his hand.

He starts to wave it a little, but he is not being called on.

Finally he stands up, walks to the front of the room and loudly proclaims, "Sisto Bwack, you singed SO nice! You sangd the most beautifulest of all the teach-os! Gwate job, Sisto Bwack!"

"Thank you, SuperC," I responded, feeling that warmth spread from my heart to the top of my head and the tips of my fingers and toes.

A new thought took hold in my mind: Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Sundays are my favorite day of the week.

And you know what? Even with a head-getting-stuck-in-the-chair incident during class (oh, how I wished I had my camera!) it turned out to be a pretty great day.

It's amazing how far a compliment can carry someone, isn't it?

Are YOU An Acronym?

I was born an acronym. I came into this world as a CODA (Child Of Deaf Adults) and acronyms have been following me ever since.

It wasn't until after my family became LDS (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, best known as Mormons) that I realized what a complex language acronyms can be in and of themselves!

So I wrote a song about it. A parody, really.

I was asked to emcee a talent show at church a few years back and was worried that I would be lacking in material to keep the audience entertained between the various lip-syncs and ballroom dance numbers. I had jokes. I had funny stories. I even practiced my accordion in anticipation of my big night, but nothing seemed enough, so I wrote a song about the acronyms found in daily conversations between those of the LDS faith. If you are not LDS, you may think, "What's the big deal?" Actually, if you are LDS, you may think the same thing. But here goes:

"Making Love Out Of Nothing At All" Originally by Air Supply

"LDS Life" Parody by Gerberta

My family was converted when I was eight years old

We loved this new religion - the missionaries called us "gold"!

I learned what CTR means from attending Primary

But I was unaware back then of Mormon acronym vocabulary!

When I joined the MIA, my friends liked to go TP

I went along but felt unworthy Sunday morning at BYC

Then my MIA Maid president told me all about EFY

And how the boy she had met didn’t mind PDA

and they would NCMO at the dances each night!

Well, I thought it sounded special, so I flew to SLC

Then I rode UTA to attend EFY, but they dropped me at the JSB!

And I didn’t know where the WILK was,

It was my first time at the “Y”…but I found my way around there and I knew…

This was LDS life. (repeat 5 times)

Look at me now, I’ve had 6 miracles and we drive an SUV.

My husband’s not a GA, but we have FHE and read D&C.

He goes to PEC & PPI and every last Sunday we do HT & VT.

We listen to KSL every day until three & our kids watch KBYU faithfully.

And, oh my heck, I forgot to mention that he graduated from UVSC!

We look forward to the day when we will have a missionary.

And he can learn the discussions and he’ll SYL while he is there in the MTC!

When he gets out in the field he’ll do a lot of BRT.

And then he could be a ZL, or maybe a DL, heck, he might even be the AP!

When he’s done he’ll return with honor, and find himself a wife.

And they’ll do all the same things that we did – that’s how it is.

That is LDS life. (sing to fade)

Okay, THIS IS A TEST...Did you get all the acronyms?