Where the Streets

I'm a big fan of the internet phone service, Skype.  I use it for work and to stay in touch with my family.  Because everyone in my company travels so much we all make it a practice to put our current location in our Skype profile so if someone needs to contact us they can work out the time difference and avoid calling in the middle of the night.

When I'm in Utah I typically just put Salt Lake City in the status - but for some reason last week I changed it and put the name of my hometown, Aurora instead.  This generated several messages asking me exactly Aurora was.  I even heard from a Brazilian friend, currently living in South Africa telling me that she lives in a development called Aurora.

How do you explain a place as small (and wonderful) as Aurora to people who've never experienced it?  I'm not really sure, but I've always secretly thought U2's "Where The Streets Have No Name."  Was a pretty good start.

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My Face

A few months ago I complained to my mom about a dark patch of skin under my left eye.  I hated looking in the mirror and seeing it.  My mom told me that her mother had a similar mark.  I won't go so far as saying that I now like having the mark on my face, but I do find myself thinking about my grandma now when I look in the mirror.

Yesterday I shared some memories of my paternal grandpa, sadly I don't have as many memories of my maternal grandma because she passed away while I was still young.  But thanks to some quirk of genetics I have a daily reminder of her in my life.  I also have the stories my mom, aunts and uncles have shared over the years - I know I share her love of reading, I know she was kind, put others first and loved to laugh.

I know many of you reading also knew grandma Lucy - what do you remember about her, or for those of you who came after she passed, what stories have your parents told you?  I'd really like to have a few more memories of her so please share.

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Walk On

As I mentioned yesterday I spent some time with my grandpa while I was in Utah, he has Alzheimer's which has gotten progressively worse over the past few years.  He's finally reached the point in this terrible disease where he needs to live in a place where he can have round the clock professional care.

Watching him lose part of himself over the past few years has been extremely difficult to watch, but I can't help but be grateful for all the years we had together.  I grew up next door to my grandparents and they were a part of my daily life.  What a gift to have a lifetime of memories.

Most of my early jobs involved yard work, my mom and dad would help me line up jobs in the neighborhood, they supplied the lawn mower, the gas and the reminders, but it was up to me to get the job done - or it would have been if my grandpa hadn't kept popping up to give me a hand.

My first time on an airplane was with my grandparents (it was also their first and only time on a plane) when they took me to Hawaii.  We had such a great time together and still talked about the trip nearly 20 years later.  I think this trip was at least partially responsible for my love of travel, which is what led me to this crazy job, although I remember that first plane ride as being much more pleasant than air travel today.

My grandpa was the head mechanic at a gypsum plant and I could occasionally talk him into taking me with him to work.  I was so proud to be his granddaughter - it seemed that everyone knew and loved him.  He'd give me a tour of the plant, patiently explaining how everything worked.  I think my tours of the plant were the beginning of my love of process and finding the most efficient way to get a job done.

It is hard to see my grandpa as he is today, but I'm grateful for our wonderful memories and I'm incredibly grateful for the people at the center who are giving him the care he needs at this point in his life.  Mostly I'm grateful for my belief that there is a life after this, a time when he will again be whole in mind and body.  Until that time I pray we will all have the strength we need to walk this path along with him.

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Family

It was a crazy few days but I managed to spend some time with every member of my family during my whirlwind trip home.  I saw Tiny T take a few stumbling first steps, I reassured myself that Miss M still knows who I am, and perhaps hardest of all I spent some time with my grandpa who may not know exactly who I am anymore, but who seemed to recognize at least that I was someone he loved.

I am so incredibly blessed to be a part of my family.  Individually they are amazing people, but together we've proven time and time again we can do anything we put our minds too.

I'm often asked how I manage the basics of life while I'm away from home.  The truth is - I'm only able to manage it because I have a great family who helps me out.  A mom who picks up my mail and helps me get the bills paid on time.  A dad who helps me keep up with boring things like taxes and insurance.  A brother who keeps my technology stuff up and running.  And a sister and BIL who watch over my house.  

I know, without a doubt, I couldn't make it on my own.  

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Oscar Wish

I won't be watching the Oscars tonight - I'll be on an airplane where I hope there will be a great movie selection - if there, is I may finally get a chance to watch a few of the nominated films.

I do have an Oscar wish and I'm hoping putting it out there will make it come true.  Ryan Bingham's "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart is amazing, I'd love to see it win and for more people to discover this talented artist.

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Taxes

Taxes - I hate this time of year.

Don't get me wrong, I'm okay with needing to pay my share.  I even understand why we do.  But does it need to be so complicated?  And why is it that doing taxes makes me feel so dumb?

At least its easier to do my taxes than fix a bad relationship.  Here's a little Ryan Adams to keep me going while I sort out this mess.

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Hometown

It's always good to be in my home town again.  No matter where I travel nothing feels as comfortable as Aurora.  I'm so grateful that I was lucky enough to grown up in this tiny community.

On my last visit home I got a tour of the house I grew up in (thanks to J & J.)  As I walked through the house I couldn't help but think about a song from Miranda Lambert, "The House that Built Me."




Listening to this clip made me wish I had musical talent and could be like Miranda and listen to a set of songs, fall in love with one and make it mine.  Instead, I'll settle for listening to a song and passing it on, hoping you love it as much as I do. Pin It

A passing resemblance

It seems that this is one of those weeks where songs just keep reaching out and grabbing my mind.

I stumbled across this song months ago when I listened to an Eli Young Band album on an airplane in their entertainment system.  I liked this song so much I picked up the CD when I found it on sale at Target.  I hadn't thought much more about it in months, until I read an article this week that the band was finally putting out the song "Guinevere" as a single.

Apparently they hadn't planned to release it, but fan reaction to the song changed their mind - to the point that they pooled their own money to make the video.

What caught me about the song the first time and even more so as I've listened to it this week is that a few of the lines hit a little uncomfortably close to home.  While I would appreciate having the line, "for as much as she stumbles she's running" applied to me, I hope I never think "forgiveness ain't nothing but a lifeless tire on the shoulder of her soul that never rolls."

I'm on an airplane again today with a "pocketful of memories" as I make way home for a very quick stay before I take off again.  I can't help but wonder if I could survive my somewhat crazy work life if I didn't have, like Guinevere, "a handful of records" to turn to when I need to land.

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Suitcase Time

I'm packing again. 

I can hardly believe six weeks have come and gone.  I'm glad I'll be back again soon.

While I pack enjoy a new favorite of mine - Pearl Jam's "Just Breathe."  I've never been a huge fan, but this song could convert me. 

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Lyrics

When I was trying to come up with a name for my blog I knew it had to relate to music, I landed on lyrical because nearly every time I find a song I like I find myself compelled to track down the lyrics so I can better understand the the meaning of the song.  I believe in 100 years students will study the lyrics the way we used to study 18th and 19th century poetry - maybe not songs like "Sexy Chick" but perhaps songs like Ben Harper's "Diamonds on the Inside."

This is the type of song I could easily see a student breaking down and analyzing in a term paper.  Its the sort of song you can listen to over and over and pick up on a different lyric and meaning depending on your situation at that moment.

I knew a girl

Her name was truth

She was a horrible liar

She couldn't spend one day alone

But she couldn't be satisfied

When you have everything

You have everything to lose

She made herself a bed of nails

And she's planning on putting it to use

But she had diamonds on the inside

A candle throws its light into the darkness

In a nasty world so shines a good deed

Make sure the fortune that you seek

Is the fortune that you need

Tell me why the first to ask

Is the last to give every time

What you say and do not mean

Follows you close behind

She had diamonds on the inside

Like the soldier long standing under fire

Any change comes as a relief

Let the giver's name remain unspoken

She is just a generous thief

She had diamonds on the inside 

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