Category: Tunes

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.”

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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:

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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.

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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.

I really appreciated this segment on GMFB this morning! It took me back for sure! All the way back to 1997 which I’m pretty sure I was a freshman in high school.

When Kay said that Ma$e’s song was number one, I remembered having a BIG crush on him in high school! One of my friends had ripped out a picture of him from a magazine and gave it to me. It was an entire page so I tucked it into the clear cover of my white binder. I think I still have that picture somewhere because I don’t think I would have ever thrown it out! The following picture here is the CD cover of a CD that I’m pretty sure I STILL own!

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Of course I had to include the song she cited! I put the radio edit in because I didn’t want the explicit lyrics on my blog. This song took me way back and I remembered his name was spelled, “Ma$e.”

I think it was a couple segment later that Kay referenced this song, the, “flip that and reverse it” and Nate thought it was Ciara but Kay let him know it was Missy Elliott. I think this song is more in my head than Ma$e.

I opened my eyes when it was still dark outside to take my mouthguard off. I wear a mouthguard at night because I am a teeth grinder! Wearing my mouthguard helps me keep from feeling like I’ve been punched in the face! Not that I have ever been punched in the face nor want to be but I imagine that’s what it feels like because it really hurts! I’ve been wearing it for probably 6 or 8 years and I’m too afraid to NOT wear it! I think there may be some weird subconscious reason that I take it out in the middle of the night and awake NOT wearing it in the morning. I usually don’t remember taking it out but last night/ this morning I did because I did NOT hear any rain on my roof or windows!

When I really opened my eyes this morning, I still did NOT hear any rain and got excited! I thought of this song:

As I laid in bed, I wondered why my knee was hurting so excruciatingly! I didn’t find that out until my Mom came over and got me out of bed. I followed her into the kitchen and she grabbed my Kiefer from the fridge. I was extremely groggy but then I saw it. It had snowed last night! Really?! During my birthday month?!

Sean made breakfast again this morning and the eggs were delicious! He went to his friend’s house to watch basketball and I remained holed up in my house. I wasn’t feeling well and it was specifically because of my knee! That was crazy because I did not feel well yesterday, and I think that was because I have MS. But really thinking about it, there is snow outside. That means raised barometric pressure and precipitation in the air = knee NOT feeling well!

I watched a couple of movies on Netflix that my Mom suggested and I really liked them! I started to get tired so I put on the old faithful of the time, Laws of Attraction.

I’m grateful that I have gotten my money’s worth since purchasing it on St. Patrick’s Day. Who doesn’t love a little Ireland?! So, my knee hurts today and there is snow. Additionally, State won! Being a U of M graduate, that’s NOT cool but at least there’s no rain! That Blind Melon song has stayed in my head all day!

I was barely awake when I heard my Mom open the front door to my house. I could hear the rain as I groaned and tried to rollover. Rain has always NOT been a good thing for me, or better yet, it hasn’t been good for me in probably the last 15 years. When she opened the door, a song from my youth popped into my head. Something about the rain and crying. I already did not feel well because my knee threatened to, “pop out” all night! When I heard the rain, it was no wonder that I did not feel well! I had to look that song up because I didn’t know where it came from but I remember being young when I heard it. And all of this blasted rain! I found that song I thought of, it’s about some guy cheating on a girl. It’s not Sunday but is talked about the rain. I did not see the rain, but rather, heard it.

The pain was evident on my face as my Mom helped me out of bed. She asked me where it hurt and my response was a single word. I said, “Everywhere!” She asked me where it hurts the worst and I told her a simple, “my knee.” I thought of one of my Mom’s favorite songs that we have a listened to often as we complete our morning routine. The song I thought of came out when I was five years old:

The Merriam Webster online dictionary cited the second definition of the word menagerie to be, “A varied mixture.“ That is exactly what my pain was! A menagerie of pain! A mixture of MS pain because of the rain and broken knee pain because my knee STILL hurts! The Allure song stayed in my head most of today and not so much the Fleetwood Mac song.

I lit some, “spring smelling” candles to make myself feel better after the rain stopped and thought of my nephew. I texted him a picture because years ago, he’told me that house smelled like candles. It does now! I use PartyLite candles because I am chemically sensitive now. They don’t bother me even with the scent.