I tagged my friend, Jaci, on Facebook in the post I wrote yesterday. We reminisced about laughing at me setting my alarm to wake up to watch David Letterman in order to watch U2’s musical performances, arriving to work very early, and how she is reminded of me with James blunt. I DID listen to him a lot during our first years teaching.
We were hired in the same year. There were five hires in our, “Freshman class” as I call it. I was one of the last to leave and now none of us are teaching there anymore.
Sean left to get his haircut so I am by myself in my house and I added Back to Bedlam to my Apple Music playlists and proceeded to listen to the entire album. (I need to gather my thoughts and I hope to write about it in a little bit) but I heard this song and given how I handled listening to that James Blunt album, this song seemed fitting. I almost forgot about it:
So today, in the late morning hours, I was feeling some U2 music! I pulled up my U2 playlist in Apple Music and was trying to decide what song I wanted to hear. I scrolled through the EXTENSIVE playlist and randomly chose songs I wanted to hear. Any U2 song has the power to transport me back to a different place, time, and circumstance. The songs I chose were largely from one of the best of albums:
I listened to this album a lot on my way to work when I worked at DFCU financial while I was in college, just after Sean was born. I am reminded of Matt Davis. We were both working in the drive-through and I was thinking of songs I heard on my way into work and I just exclaimed, “I love u2!” Matt looked kind of uncomfortable and asked me why I said that. I laughed and told him I was talking about the band.
This album was spring of my freshman year at WMU and driving down E. Pond Dr. after just leaving my dorm and living in Kalamazoo.
This one was my first year teaching. U2 was the musical guest all week long on the David Letterman show. My friend and former colleague, Jaci, thought it was so funny that I would go to sleep at my normal time during the week and I set my alarm to watch David Letterman. Because I was 26 at the time and Dave’s target audience was 18 to 25, I didn’t really dig that show as much as I used to when I was younger. I didn’t find it as funny as I remember it being. So on Tuesday and for the rest of the week, I set my alarm for just in time to see u2 perform their new music.
This album is really special to me because the few new songs that are on it, speak to me! I listened to one of these songs right after my Dad died and I drove to work crying and would wear my sunglasses into the building give me those sun was not even up to hide my red and puffy eyes.
Sean was in his room and asked, “What’s up with the depressing music?“ I laughed and told him it was NOT depressing! I guess I was choosing more of their mellow tunes but I didn’t mind at all!
I’ve said before how I do not share my U2 songs with anyone because I don’t want negative memories to cloud my music. Then I listened to a song that I don’t listen to often because I do not appreciate so much the time, place, and circumstance I am transported back to. But this song is fitting because it’s Easter!
Yesterday, I had to do some Easter shopping because this may be the last year Sean gets an Easter basket! He hasn’t had one in a couple years because I haven’t been working but this year, I wanted to do this for my Beeb.
My Mom loaded me into the car and we left. This song played right when I got into the car!:
This song has been my jam for almost 20 years! I thought it was going to mean it was a good omen but… I will write about it in a bit.
So, I’m feeling like poop today but as I sit and watch a cheesy Hallmark movie (which I LOVE!) that I have never seen before, the guy talked about Night swimming. Of course I thought of this song and had to share it! I have not thought about this song in over 10 years, probably about 14…
I chose to read this book because my Mom talked about it years ago and I have never read it.. I thought of that James Blunt song:
Because this book was written so long ago, I really have to concentrate on the language chosen. I appreciate this fact because it helps my brain and makes my mind think harder! It may take me longer to read but I’m down for that!
I broke my left ankle in March of 2005. I was still walking, living with my parents, doing my student teaching, about to graduate from undergrad, and had a boot on my leg. My ankle was proving to take a very long time to heal (Thanks MS!) and it was painful. My Dad reminded me one evening in the hallway outside his bedroom that, “The blood of strong Mexicans runs through [my] veins.” He told me that with conviction that evening to let me know that I had the strength to get through this even though it was taking a long time for my broken ankle to heal and it was so painful.
My knee has been popping out every day for the past four days. I was told that my Mom is, “Hard-Core” because once it pops out (mostly upon transfer), she will raise my ankle up and hold my knee as it pops back into place with a loud, “pop” and a combination of a gasp, a scream, and/or tears from me.
I am not sure which of my parents I am able to gather more strength from, it’s a combination of the two but I am trying my best to gather that strength today! My knee is throbbing and my legs feel tight and like they are curling up . My feet are pronating and all of this hurts too! It’s a result of not being worked out at Barwis Methods; and that fact hurts a lot as well!
I thought of this song that I used to listen to while still an undergrad and still driving:
I’m not sure if it’s just me going stir crazy in my house but my legs are more elevated and my wheelchair is reclined to alleviate pressure on my hips. I’ve been sitting back and watching, Legends of the Fall because that movie is always good for a few good cries. I figure if I let some of this pain escape my body through my eyes, I will be able to gather up some of the strength (apparently I already have) I need today to get through this!
My Mom and I didn’t listen to any music today but rather, we talked. I am not even sure what we were talking about but she ended it with, “That’s my remember-y!” Hearing that, I began to laugh! When Sean was about five years old, he used to say? “Remember-y” instead of, “Memory.” I half-heartedly tried to correct him but I thought that sounded so darn cute!
Recently, he was washing dishes and I sat in my kitchen to talk with him as my Mom was doing something at this stove. He was listening to music on his JBL speaker. He only listens to Motown when My Mom or I are around because he doesn’t have to censor the music he listens to. “Superstition” came on by Stevie Wonder.
Both my Mom and I started to laugh and Sean just shook his head as I flailed my arms over my head. He returned to washing the dishes and simply said, “It’s not funny.” But, it ACTUALLY is! I’m sure I have written about this before but my Mom and I took Sean to his first movie. It was, Happy Feet. That song was in the soundtrack and always reminds me of him being very small (about 3) and sitting in the seat with his legs stretched out forward and his feet it just came to the edge of the seat.
I bought him the kids’ size popcorn and drink and that was on his lap. I put the drink in the cupholder and I’m glad I did because about halfway through the movie, I think it was a sea lion who jumps out and tries to eat Bumble. I will admit that it was a bit scary but Sean threw both of his arms in the air and popcorn flew EVERYWHERE when he jumped!
My Mom and I began to laugh after I consoled him and made sure he was okay. As we all were in the kitchen and my Mom and I were laughing, Sean simply said, “It’s not funny” as our laughter continued. I told him that, “It’s a GREAT remember-y!”
When I said that, he interjected emphatically that, “[That word] makes sense! He told me that when you remember something, it is a memory so, “Remember-y” fits! He told me that he stands by that word! I just smiled at remembered him being small saying that word and being afraid at the movie!
Talk about a, “Throwback Thursday!” I have thought about my sweet baby boy at that age all day! I was a bit nervous about writing about these, “Remember-ies” but I’m pretty sure that Sean does NOT read my blog!
I thought about a picture that I’m sure I have somewhere in my camera roll and it’s of Sean about the age of seeing that movie and using the word, “Remember-y.”
But I think I like this picture better because the Pistons just made it into the playoffs with last night’s win! I watch the game with Sean who is 17 now.
Last night, my knee popped out and popped back in as my Mom raised my ankle with the biggest crack ever! I think it was even louder than the crack I heard months ago. Needless to say, I fell asleep with my knee throbbing and woke up to pain just as bad as when I went to sleep! It’s extremely frustrating that this pain still happens and frequently because the day before yesterday, my knee also popped out. I was a little bit late rolling to my living room to turn on GMFB.
The moment I turned the TV on, Kyle Brant was talking about Rick Astley. He did a little dance with his shoulders and hands and I immediately knew who he was talking about! I never knew that guy’s name but I remembered seeing the video!
I didn’t even know what they were talking about and GMFB because I just caught the end of the segment before the commercials but that song (which I looked up on YouTube) reminded me of family barbecues at Willow Park when I was young! It was #14 Tune Inspired by GMFB. I thought of my brother, Ray, my brother, Steve, and my cousin, Alex.
I also thought of seeing that video a couple years later on the VH1 show, “Pop-up Video.” The show that has word bubbles pop up during the video with obscure facts. I remember in this particular, “Pop-up,“ I learned that the bartender in the video was really hung over at the day of the shoot! It was only REALLY useful information! I probably saw that show probably 20 years ago if not more but I still remember THAT video and the random things I learned about it!
A little while later on the show, they talked about the incoming draft prospects and how one of them is really into shoes. Nate Burleson is also into shoes and they showed this picture:
Everybody else was making fun of him but I remembered a time one what he was wearing was cool! I tweeted at him and told him not to be ashamed because back in the day, he was cool! I am pretty sure that my brother, Jimmy had something very similar. The rest of the hosts and Will Selva laughed at Nate and talked about Lou Bega and, “Mambo No. 5.”
That song immediately took me back to camping when I was about four months pregnant. I was still walking then and I remember having to climb down a somewhat steep hill to get to the water so Sean’s dad could fish. I made a big deal about needing help getting down the hill because I was pregnant.
We stood in ankle deep water as his dad cast his line. I just stood there and kind of splashed around in the water when a water moccasin came towards me with its head out of the water ready to attack! I screamed and ran back up the hill furiously! His dad noted that I ran up that hill all by myself but I told him that that snake was trying to hurt me and my baby! It wanted to kill us! That song, at Nate’s expense, is the #15 Tune Inspired by GMFB. I LOVE that show!
Yesterday, my Mom mentioned Dorian Gray. I vaguely remember a James Blunt song that had a line about him. I remembered my Mom telling me about Dorian Gray when I was still teaching English and the story interested me and I wanted to read the book and eventually teach it to my students. I never did though because my world cracked when my Dad died.
So yesterday, as my Mom and I were talking as we completed our morning routine, I told her that the words, “Dorian Gray” were in a James Blunt song but I couldn’t quite remember it. So, of course I had to look it up on YouTube to play this song for my Mom and to jog my memory.
I’m surprised that I still remember the words once this song started play and I tried to remember when I heard this song. I listened to it a lot in the car but I also listened to it in my second apartment as I got ready for work. After doing a little bit of research, the album came out in October 2004.
It made sense that I remembered to hearing the song a lot in my car because in 2004, Sean and I were still living with my parents because I was still an undergrad. We moved out in August of 2005 just before I started teaching. I listened to the album and loop a lot my first year teaching. It took me a minute to understand why I was listening to this album as I got ready for work in my second apartment. We moved into the 2nd apartment in August of 2006 just before my dad died.
The album has mellow sounding songs that soothed me when my world cracked because I was trying to help my four-year-old son deal with his world that had also cracked. That album played in my bedroom on the dresser as I got ready for work. I had memories of it playing in my car because when it first came out, I was still in college. I remembered the mellow songs that helped me get it together enough to get ready for work.
Music that played on my way to work is a whole different story that I know I have written about before. I think I’m going to search through my blog to find it to repost.
So, I’ve been watching a lot of basketball with Sean. I haven’t watched much basketball in a while because it is too fast for my eyes to adjust to. Now that I have an eyepatch, I can enjoy the game with Sean. That’s all that counts to me anyway. He’s been to Pistons’ games (which is who we watched today). and I was able to get into March Madness and the NCAA tournament because of him. Today as we watched, the music played when there was a timeout or a violation and I thought I heard this song:
This song was an ALMOST Forgotten Tune until I heard it! I don’t even know if it was that song but I was reminded of this song and being a Junior in high school.
Even though the Pistons ended up losing the game, before the end of it, I heard one more song that took me back to high school:
I put the clean version in and this one because I’m old now…
