What A Week...

Sometimes, a good string of music comes out in shuffle mode on my ipod and it's almost spiritual. Like the stars being in alignment. A few nights ago while I was out on my 50 minute speed walk, the best group of 'getaway' songs began to play and I lost myself in thought and other things, and I really needed it. 

This has been one of those weeks where a good stream of songs feels like an angel on my shoulder - it's been a disconcerting week.   The economy is still in limbo - leaning towards dreadful, it's close to record-breaking heat for June and a really great co-worker died unexpectedly over the weekend. I'm traveling for work, the husband is traveling for work and I'm feeling a little discombobulated - I really appreciated that ipod stretch.

Then, on Friday, a double-whammy - Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson both died on the same day - a cultural/emotional blow to anyone in my age range - and apparently many others given the relentless coverage of MJ on TV.  Each of them hold a place in my memory but honestly, Michael more than Farrah - I was always pretty sure that even if I got the Farrah haircut, I was never going to look remotely like her, so I never let it be an issue. 

Michael Jackson's music on the other hand, holds incredible memories for me. Given my unusual affinity for all music that is soul, jazz or Motown - the Jackson Five were favorites of mine from the first time I saw them.  I disco danced to them through high school and college, then got up in the middle of he night in the 80's to take care of babies while watching this new program called MTV... and amazing videos of Michael Jackson.  I continued to like him, tried to not be too judgmental through the weirdness, but that was hard sometimes to reconcile.

I used to make CD's for friends for Christmas and birthdays - and a couple of years ago I had put one of my favorite MJ songs, Rock With You, right in the middle of the CD.  I had one woman tell me she couldn't understand why I would put a Michael Jackson song on the CD considering what he has done. Wow, I was surprised.  I told her to hit 'forward' on her player when it came on... 

It is now Saturday night after his Thursday death and I wish we could just focus on his incredible music, not his peculiar ways. This is my favorite Michael, the way I like to remember him.  And on tomorrow's morning walk with my ipod - I'm hoping for something from Thriller.

My Stay-cation

Well, not as planned, but our mini-vacation to Crested Butte turned into a stay-cation due to weather. Flights, connections and weather - it just wasn't happening and I felt it when I got up this morning. I worked through the morning because I'm not good with changing plans when it includes an airport - especially when your travel companion is monitoring the situation online with 30 minute updates that change every thirty minutes. Work is one thing that I have plenty of and absorbs my time (yep, that sounds a little pathetic).

Once the decision was made to totally bag the effort of fighting the odds, the husband and I went into stay-cation mode. He took a nap while I regrouped - we ran out and saw the movie "UP" which was delightful, then went to Jake's for a burger - a real one. The husband set up a golf game for 8 a.m. and I am going to do the crossword puzzle out of the paper before I head out to work off the excellent burger.

I may end up really liking this stay-cation.

PS  Ranger game was awesome, these were our seats!

I Don't Know What To Say About This

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5073156n

I find these two guys amazing on CBS Sunday Morning - almost worth missing church for. This one gave me pause, no commentary yet. Just compelling.

TRA-DI-TION da da da da da daaa TRADITION!

Yes, you are supposed to be singing like Tevye here while I'm still enjoying the memory of the Bat Mitzvah I attended this weekend. Not the party, although it was pretty amazing, it is this service that I find very inspiring. This was my second Bat Mitzvah, and although I know this child, I believe a total stranger could be standing up there and I would still be moved.

This particular rabbi spoke the words that totally encapsulated the essence of this service. He said that the Bat Mitzvah service is not mystical or magical - nothing dramatically changes. Rather, it is a bridge from childhood to adulthood, in this case the transition to a Jewish woman. I love this description because it states the value of participating in a ceremony that describes a transition in life. It's good for teenish age kids to stand up before friends and family and participate in a validation of a passage of time, of age; an event they never really forget. Now, this girl may remember her magnificent party more than the service, but as in so many events, the more serious event often is recalled as they get older.

The year my younger son was graduating from cub scouts to boy scouts, one of the other leaders and I had this amazing idea (I'm sure it was spurred on by wine). We live near a lake that has a sailing club, and we thought how cool it would be to 'crossover' to Boy Scouts by sailing across this small lake to the other side, where the boy scout troop they would be joining would be waiting. We had a group of 13 who would be making this passage and we were able to con(vince) the master of the club to get a few folks to show up and glide these boys across the lake. What we hadn't planned on is siblings wanting to go (and their mothers promising they could), boys who were scared, boys who couldn't keep their hands out of the water and the ropes... you name it and it happened in those harrowing 20 minutes. On the other side was a wonderful Scout Master, Mr Franco, and ANY scout (or teenage boy) he could get to come out and wear something that looked remotely like a scout shirt. Mr.Franco had a little ceremony - he passed something out to the boys, and it was done. It was bedlam, the den moms were frazzled - and although we wanted to drown the boys at that point, it was a success. It was talked about, it was in the local paper, and I have actually heard from other mom's that it was remembered.

Tradition.

All The World Really Is A Stage

A rather wise woman, who I have paid thousands of dollars to over the years (I'm not kidding), provided me with a really useful technique several years ago. The purpose and best use of this technique is when you are sucked into the emotional vortex of a situation that needs a solution - and all you can do is ruminate on it - spinning in perpetual circles - you pull this little trick out of your back pocket to acquire clarity. I wish I could remember to employ this quicker than I usually do, I would save myself A LOT of grief.

Here it is. Harken to Shakespeare and remember this:

Jaques:
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.
As You Like It Act 2, scene 7, 139–143

His acts being seven ages is for another day - today I'm focusing on the first two lines; All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players.

Now, for the cool part. Pull yourself up above your own personal stage so you are looking down; and take the situation and individuals you are trying to deal with; and watch them without emotion. Really, it's enlightening - you can do it. When you begin to look at them through this view point, without your emotions involved - and -if you look with an open eye, you can often stop the spinning and get a grip on a possible solution. Maybe two. It's really amazing.

Either I'm somewhat enlightened, or just tired of all the spinning, but I'm getting better at recognizing the need for this tool - and pretty often lately. I try to use it with my boys so that I don't get emotionally involved in their business - they are 23 and 25 after all. I had to do it in reflecting on how I dealt with a conversation amongst a few friends last week - but then I also had to re-tell the situation and how I resolved it to a friend. I wasn't sure I was viewing the scene properly (she said I was - good friends are like that).

I'm intrigued because I think someone in the Obama Administration knows how to utilize this skill set as well. They are viewing a very large stage with SO MANY actors - puts my little stage to shame. But, I think it's with that distanced eye that they are showing an adeptness in seeing the larger picture and extracting the essence of each scene; then adding it to the next one. Still, I worry. I just hope they don't get a cast of thousands up there and the stage implodes on itself.

As for my stage, it has cast multiple plays since I first learned of this concept - I fought it initially because I still thought the world would stop spinning if I didn't control it. Gradually, I discovered that not only will it continue to spin, but I don't have to add my own set of whirling issues - I can take a view from above, create solutions and enjoy watching all my actors.