If you have any song suggestions, please comment or message.
I'll start posting these as single posts as well, so forgive me if you see these more than once. If you're on TikTok (oh please go on TikTok, it's so much fun!), we'd love to be friends there too!
Here's wishing and praying for all of us to be a little better at kindness, understanding and Love in the weeks to come. People deal with stress and anxiety in so many different ways. A little compassion could go such a long way for others and might be there for us too, just when we need it the most.
Whelp. It happened again. There was only one other time that I can recall, when it escaped my attention that it was Monday and therefore blog day. My apologies.
#TuesdayIsTheNewMonday - and NOW that it's after midnight - #WednesdayIsTheNewTuesday
This is a tough time for many of us. So often we find the strength and comfort that we need to get through, by helping each other and coming together. This time we must remain separated, and "alone together" is a thing. Then came this:
- because performers and entertainers connect with people. That's what we do. That's who we are. Now, I've got some more calls to make...
and some songs to sing.
LOL (this next one)
Here's wishing us all some beautiful moments, through it all.
We're OK. May that be the first thing you hear from loved ones as the next few weeks go by.
We went from new school protocols, to no school. From playground, to no contact with other children - not even the ones next door. From relatively normal life - to this.
As is the case for most of the world, life is changing by the minute.
Now we are heroes for keeping distance from each other, for following guidelines that require our mastery of the mundane within the walls at home.
There's a litany of things we can NOT do, but what about the things that we can? We can appreciate time together with our children. We can understand that we are all in this together. We can learn more. We can seek out positivity and do our part to promote it. We can call someone who is alone or elderly and keep them company by our conversation. We can put differences aside. We can act in a way that lifts others up and that brings us together in spirit. We can find new ways to have fun. We can do a lot to show each other love and respect.
Here's wishing health and happiness... and for the peace and comfort that comes from knowing that there are great depths of Love, Kindness, Understanding and Strength within us all.
Why? Because I've officially discovered TikTok and it's taken every bit of my time and energy trying to keep up with the kids and figure out how to use it.
It hasn't been easy...
Thankfully, Zachary's been helping out around the house...
There's always a learning curve when we first try something new...
but sooner or later, things start to sink in.
Sometimes we can all get a little shy...
but we might realize that we're not alone - because everyone is kind of weird in their own way.
There is such a thing as "glow" time at the trampoline park.
The big lights go out and the place is illuminated with funky, color changing lasers and blacklight. I had thought it was "glow" time a few days prior when it seemed like the sun was giving me a face lick.
The best glow of all was Sunday. There was another little boy in church about the same size as Zachary. He was the friendliest little boy ever and offered Zachary one of his toy cars to play with. Soon he was demonstrating how the lights worked on his other car (which was his favorite) and shared that one as well. They played together contentedly and sweetly (being quieted just a few times, as you might expect any two toddler boys playing in church would need to be). Zachary announced, "It's communion time! I'll be right back!" but then instead of separating, they walked, hand in hand, all the way up and back to our seats, where they continued playing. After the choir sang the final song (the poignantly appropriate "Companions On the Journey") they put on their coats and followed each other around until they hugged goodbye. A woman from the other aisle came to me and asked if they knew each other. (No, they had not before then.) "How sweet!" was her response. They were. They were absolutely adorable together.
Glow time... a time when we shine, when our best self shows up and joins another in companionship. It truly warms the heart. I came home and reached out to several people I hadn't spoken to in a while - by phone. In this world of social media and high tech stuff, sometimes we miss the real connection. When it shows up, it's magical.
Here's wishing us all a magical week - with plenty of glow time.
With the new furnace and hot water heater installed at home, we said goodbye to the hotel room and picked up the dogs from the kennel.
Like Zachary says: "Keep it moving."
Russ joined in on the action.
I'm reminded of how quickly life keeps on chugging along. In the blink of an eye, years seem to pass. One of the secrets is probably to enjoy it and make the most of every step in the process. Every moment is an opportunity to choose optimism, happiness, and gratitude - or their opposites. With the power of our mind, we can make change be something to fear or something to look forward to. So I'm saying, "Onward! Good things are on the way!"
It's like a rite of passage to get to the point where you get your bike seat raised up.
It doesn't look like time is going to slow down. So here's wishing we all spend it wisely. Let's go!
I had been cleaning all day and preparing for a gig. The babysitter was coming at 6pm. It was probably 3:30-ish when I was starting to wrap things up and go pick up Zach. The house had a kind of sulphur smell that I thought was from me cleaning out the drains. I had windows open to vent and it was cold outside, so the heat was probably kicking in more than usual.
Then there was a beeping sound. I couldn't figure out where it was coming from at first. Russ was on the phone. When I said I thought it was coming from the basement, he said it could be the carbon monoxide detector. I went down to find what seemed like smoke. I couldn't see any source.
I hung up and called 911. ("The whole house smells like sulphur and the carbon monoxide alarm is going off.")
First they asked who was in the house (just me and the dogs), then they said to get the dogs and get out of the house. The Fire Department was on the way. I gazed up at the dining room as I opened the door. There was an eerie haze covering the lower half of the room. I didn't even take the time to grab my purse.
After they arrived, the captain confirmed dangerous levels of CO in the house. It was traced to a malfunctioning furnace. It was not safe to go inside. They cleared out the house and shut off the furnace and hot water heater.
There was no time to waste. I had to pick up Zach, get the dogs to a kennel, collect overnight clothes for me and Zach and get to the gig. The babysitter would have to come to the gig and stay at the hotel with Zach (hotel gig). The neighbors would keep an eye on things until the fire people managed to get the garage doors shut again, and they would also keep the babysitter warm at their house in the event she got there before I was back. Russ was calling family, the kennel, and furnace repair people from Abbey Road Studios in London. It was complete chaos - and way more than usual.
Even now, as I write this late Monday night, we are in a second hotel, the dogs still at the kennel. The new furnace comes tomorrow and maybe, just maybe, I can feel like I have some semblance of normalcy this coming week.
The gig was great. I made it on stage in the nick of time without nails or lipstick. Zachary and the babysitter were right behind me and they stayed for a few songs before he went up to bed. Everyone was very kind and I am especially grateful for the help and support of friends, neighbors and even complete strangers who went above and beyond to make our lives easier this week.
With Charlie, Gregory, Kristina #DancinMachine
Zach is having a fine adventure...
I asked for a sign and saw this.
Here's the thing. If the timing had been different... if that alarm would've gone off in the middle of the night, I would never have heard it. As crazy and as stressful as this has all been, I'm reminded that we are incredibly Blessed in ways we don't always even comprehend.
Grateful for that. Yes.
Also, for the record, we should all have carbon monoxide detectors on every level of our home. I'd like a system where they are all connected, so if one goes off they all will sound.
