more normal than not

I can’t speak for all the ladies.

That would be pretty presumptuous of me to think that.

I could probably speak for about 43% of them at best.

Ladies are mysterious.

And anyway….I’m a dude.

What do dudes know about “lady stuff”?

I’m kidding, of course, about knowing any secrets. I really don’t know any secret stuff….lady stuff or otherwise.

I love the way this lady writes.

I don’t know if there are a whole lot of people who write about “real stuff” as well as she does.

None of the things she writes about are “secrets”….but she illuminates something that a lot of people never get a chance to express as eloquently.

Take this song, for example….

“stealing kisses” Lori McKenna

You’d have to have begun your career after you’d been married for a while….and had 3 children….and had done some living…to be able to write a song like that.

“one man” Lori McKenna

There are a lot of good performers in the world.

I’m easily impressed by a little bit of passion and some musical skill.

I can go into most places that have live music and think, “Man! He’s really good” or “She’s really good!” but it’s always the writing that separates the “really good” from the “really good” for me.

I think that Lori McKenna is really good.

Here’s a song from her 2013 album, Massachusetts.

“how romantic is that?” Lori McKenna

We need more music that’s “grown up” music….music that maybe doesn’t chart really high or anything, but is true and says something that means something.

I think that there’s still enough room in this crowded world for something true.

Maybe.

The new album is called Numbered Doors.

“all a woman wants” Lori McKenna

 

This is what the artist known as “Pink” can do.

I never paid a lot of attention to her.

Overblown and really “pop”….it wasn’t really my style.

She can put on a good show, though.

Now she has a new project with songwriter Dallas Green called You plus Me.

Here’s a song from their first and (so far) only album….

“From a Closet in Norway (Oslo Blues)” You plus Me

It’s a good thing to get a chance to see a talented artist in a new light.

I don’t think I would have given her music a second thought if she hadn’t released this quiet project with Dallas Green.

I think that it caught a lot of people unawares….I hear people on some of the singer-songwriter type stations that I like to listen to commenting on what a surprise this album is….

Here’s another song from the album….

“gently” You plus Me

and…..one more….the title track from the album.

You + Me…Alecia Moore and Dallas Green…..the album is titled “Rose Ave.” and was written and recorded in a single week.

They’re a talented duo with a history of friendship….good music.

“You plus Me” You + Me

 

We have so much to be thankful for.

Maybe….good friends….maybe family….maybe health….maybe something else that’s good that we usually don’t notice.

Probably, even “eagle powers”.

Maybe we don’t have much….but there’s usually something in our lives to be thankful for.

Hopefully, we don’t have to dig too deep to remember what the thing is.

Happy Thanksgiving.

When you’re a child, I don’t think that you spend a lot of time pondering.

You may ponder logistics….like how to get “up there”….where the cookies/toys/large and dangerous knives…..are….but you don’t reminisce….or regret….or worry about the past or the future.

You don’t have much “past” to worry about.

The “past” isn’t part of your repertoire yet…and you can’t read a clock.

You don’t look back in anger.

You live in the moment.

At least, that’s the way I remember it.

It’s early and I just listened to this James Taylor song again and…..

I’m realizing that it might be smart to approach life like a child sometimes.

That “look back in anger” thought isn’t one that I personally visit too often. I’m not angry about anything. Confused, maybe….but not really angry about anything that I can think of.

I don’t have a wealth of regret.

That’s not where my wealth is.

There’s no value in the time I spend pondering things that I can’t change….now that I am years away from them.

It doesn’t do anything for me.

I know that.

Sometimes, though, I can’t help myself. What can I say? I’m a ponderous person.

I watch these kids and everything’s an immediate need.

They are pretty upfront about what they want….right when they want it.

They don’t hold back.

Most of the time that’s good…but sometimes, it gets bad…..fast.

I don’t know how to handle the “fast and bad” part consistently well, though.

I haven’t tried saying things like, “NO….think about it. Remember that time you pitched the fit in the Transformer section at Walmart and we had to carry you out of the store…..kicking and screaming?That was horrible. I will never be able to forgive you for that and I realize that that is who you are. You are a kicker….and a screamer….and a greedy, little toy mongering boy who will never be anything else. I don’t think that I’ll get over this….ever.”

That would suck to say something like that.

What kid deserves to be pigeonholed before they even get a chance to learn “how to be”?

Not any that I know.

There’s a big difference between “that disappointed me” and “you are a disappointment to me”.

And there is a big ditch that’s hard to get over between what I thought I’d be….and what I am.

That’s what it means to be a grown-up, maybe.

You see the ditch everyday…..and turn around and walk the other way.

You don’t stand at the edge and moan about the unreachable “other side”.

Right?

Maybe you just say, “I never wanted to go there, anyway.”

You put on a brave face and pretend that whatever happens to you or around you is part of the wheel you put in motion….something that you orchestrated….part of your “life plan”.

And you hope that you don’t kill anyone when you lose control and hurtle into the ditch.

It’s not good to figure out what “cruise control” is after you’ve rolled the travel trailer ,either.

That’s pretty darn dramatic.

Life’s pretty darn dramatic.

Maybe it’s better to just live like a kid….eat what you want and find all the toys under the couch….and play….play…play.

That’s simple enough for today….let tomorrow take care of itself.

“believe it or not” James Taylor

Jenny took our youngest son to a birthday party last week….and I stayed home to take care of the “baby”.

Miracle of miracles, the baby fell asleep for part of the afternoon….and while she rested on my shoulder, I watched this on TV.

Talk about “armchair athlete”….maybe that’s the best I can do right now?

There’s something that approaches “endurance” when you have to stay still with a baby on your shoulder. It’s like a parental form of Pilates or something….it’s hard to stay still when you have to.

This race fascinated me.

All these men and women….crawling around in the mud….running up hills with bags of sand….swimming in the water and climbing ropes and jumping over holes and logs….it fascinated me.

I sat on the couch and held the baby and watched all these athletes do things that I remembered were kind of hard to do.

What an armchair athlete.

What an armchair wannabe.

Did I say “kind of hard to do”?

I meant…..really hard to do.

To see these people cramping up towards the end of these races….probably cramping because of the cold water and the chill of the Vermont mountains and the exertion….made for some good watching as I sat on my comfortable couch in my comfortable house.

I’d rather watch this than watch golf.

I’d rather figure out a way to do this than watch it.

Pretty cool.