I’m in a really good mood right now because I had a modified work day off and ended up slipping out of my winter funk and did some light jogging and biking. It’s such a great day out: sunny, warm, and the trees and flowers are green and red and blue and yellow. Plus I just got done with this huge project that took me hours and hours to finish. I know I’m not supposed to run, but it was a light jog, and I hope that’s okay, because it made me feel super good after having not run for quite a while. I listened to some old 1970s music when running, the likes of Carly Simon, James Taylor, Carole King, etc. I really love this music. My parents played it a lot when I was a kid and it reminds me of a gentler time. But gentler times are all about perspectives, aren’t they? The one thing missing in my life since then is my dad, but I want to believe he’s still with me everywhere I go.
Still, today when running, I thought about that old house we used to live in and how these songs would float across the sunny rooms from my parents’ old stereo console. Us kids were not the type to sit down. If we weren’t jumping off the garage roof, biking to the nearby forest, or getting crazy outside, we’d be running all over the inside of the big house. And when my mom polished the hardwood floors, we’d of course skate across them for hours with socked feet. That house had so much laughter and activity. My parents were goofy, and taught us to be that way too, and to this day when I see my family, nothing has changed. Except my dad isn’t there acting like a chimpanzee or singing at the top of his lungs or wearing a crazy pink shirt while bbq’ing on the grill or reading poetry to us in his loud booming voice or starting whipped cream fights. He also taught us at very young ages to debate, play chess, and think about our futures. I was fortunate to have that upbringing, but nothing’s really changed, even though my younger adult years–though kind of wild and adventurous–were also tough due to a couple bad relationships. I got over it, but not without a painful, introspective journey. It just made me stronger and more independent, and less naive. More resilient for sure.
My husband (who I was so fortunate to meet after those painful years) and I have very much the same kind of silliness my family did when growing up, and yet also seriousness at times, and when we get together with my entire family, it’s always the same as it ever was, with extreme loudness and joking and good times. I’m really the quietest one in the family. But with them, I turn into someone else.
I was going to write some about Game of Thrones, but I think I’ll blog more about that later. I’m just so in love with it. I don’t really want to join in the twitter-sphere about it due to all the silly memes and spoilers, but I’m going to really really miss this show. Last night’s episode 3 gave so much power to women, was beautifully shot, and the soundtrack from Ramin Djawadi was so so excellent. Related to that, here’s the anniversary gift I got us this year for our 13th. Going to definitely be using them this weekend at our first warm weather party!
The featured image of the trees is licensed for use by Can Stock Photo, copyright Kamchatka–used for my article mentioned above: Around the World in 80 Books.