My Real Life

I haven’t taken a day off from this blog since January.

Yet, today, I am taking the day  off from being witty, revealing, thoughtful, or anything else.

Nothing is wrong…in fact, life is very good today, and I promise to share it all with you next week.

For now, go to YouTube and listen to James Taylor sing “Mexico.”

If I could figure out how to post the video on my iPad, I would.

But, since I can’t, I’ll just have to trust that you can navigate the way yourself.

Enjoy, relax, and have a great Friday.

I know I will!

Today’s question comes from Jen.

Jen writes: Truthfully, who is your favorite singer, corny or not.

My favorite singer really varies with time, so I don’t have any one favorite singer.

Right now, I’m a sucker for Gavin DeGraw.

I’ve always liked his music when it’s come out and been current, but then I kinda forget about it and move on.

However, with Spotify, I just type in his name and I get to listen to all of his music, at once.

(A colleague of mine recently pondered the purpose of Spotify, beyond letting everyone know what you are listening to.  For me, the purpose of Spotify is for me to listen to all the music I want to, where I want to, for free.)

And so, I find myself listening to his stuff over and over again, and I realize just how much of his work I love.

In a broader sense, I like a lot of male singers.

There’s just something about the quality of their voices.

Very soulful.

I love to listen to Michael Buble, Harry Connick, Jr., Josh Groban.

I could listen to any of them all day, every day.

As for female singers, I appreciate people who have crisp, clear voices.

I realize that it might sound trite, these days, to use her as a favorite, but Whitney Houston singing a ballad, in her heyday, was unparalleled.

I could also listen to Celine Dion sing her ballads again and again and again.

I get goosebumps when she hits some of those high notes.

Or even when she’s singing “My Heart Will Go On” and she gets to that part where she kicks it up a step or two.

Shivers.

But, then I like a soulful woman’s voice, as well.

Adele is currently rocking my socks, and I love, love, love Fiona Apple (even though we don’t hear much from her anymore).

And yet, when Charlotte Church came out (the teenage opera singer from the UK a few years back…okay, probably more than a few, but time has lost any sort of meaning for me now that I’ve hit forty…as far as I’m concerned, everything happened yesterday) I wore out my CD.  Actually, it might have even been a cassette.  Don’t remember.  But I LOVED it.

Oh, and I am a huge fan of Mariah Carey when she was a new artist.

Her first album.

Kim can tell you.

So, those are the voices that move me.

A different question could have been, “What type of music do you listen to?” because while they sound similar, they are quite different indeed.

But, that’s for another day.

I am remiss…I rarely edit a post after it has gone live, but I’ve just been reminded of my other  BIG TIME vocal love.  Eddie Vedder.  Oooh Mama…something about that voice absolutely captivates me.  I could listen to Eddie Vedder and no one else for the rest of my life.  Love his stuff with Pearl Jam, and LOVE his solo stuff.  The soundtrack to “Into the Wild” is one of my favorite albums (is album even a thing anymore?) of all time.  So sorry, Eddie.  That’s what I get for writing a blog while watching Dancing with the Stars.  Thanks for the reminder, Angela.

So, some of the comments, on the Juror Number Me series, were that I should write a book.

To which I responded, “I did!”

A few years ago, I wrote a novel called The Follow Through.

However, I never really worked hard at trying to get it published.

I want to have it published.

I just haven’t put in the legwork.

I did enter it in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest and made it to the semi-finals, but not all the way.

I took the comments that the reviewers made and made some tweaks and then pretty much that was that.

I don’t beat myself up over this because, let’s be honest…I don’t have all the time in the world.

However, I should have made the time.

I also haven’t really been prioritizing my writing for awhile.

While I was on maternity leave, I got a lot of writing done.

New babies eat and sleep and eat and sleep and sleep and sleep.

I’ve never been able to nap while the baby naps, so while the baby slept, I wrote.

And then I went back to work and that was that.

However, I have a bunch of stories running around in my head that I just need to get to paper.

And so…combine that with my friend, Heather’s, suggestion that I turn Monday into novella day, I’ve made a decision.

Every Monday, I will post part of a story I am writing.

This will help me make sure I write and be accountable for doing so (because imagine how embarrassing if I have to say “I got nothin’ today”) and will also broaden my writing portfolio.

And, hopefully, be entertaining for all of you.

So, here is your fair warning…starting next Monday, it will be Monday’s Mini-Stories (although I’m hoping to come up with a more clever title that than…doesn’t bode well for the stories if that’s the best name I can come up with).

In the meantime, if you are interested in knowing more about my novel, feel free to check out my author blog.  I haven’t been diligent about keeping it up at all so don’t expect much.  However, this link will take you directly to the story synopsis.

Please remember, I am always actively taking questions for Truthful Tuesday.  No question too big or too small!

Real Man tells me that I have posted this before.

I have no recollection of it, and if I did, I apologize, but I feel strongly it should be said again.

Today, I feel the need to share my gratitude.

For what, you ask?

It’s not a what, it’s a who.

Today I am giving thanks for Tiny’s babysitter.

I cannot tell you how it feels to be able to go to work and not worry about him.

Please note…I said not worry about him.

I think about him all day long and wonder what he’s doing.

But I never, never worry.

She loves him as if he were her own, and he loves her right back.

In the morning, when I drop him off, he leaps out of my arms to get to her.

In the afternoon, when I pick him up, he leaps right back into mine.

And it’s not just her.

It’s her family.

As he was learning all of our names, he was also learning theirs and gets just as excited when we ask him where they are as he does when we ask where his siblings are.

During the day, he isn’t just watched.

He is loved, he is treasured, he is cared for.

We bumped into her and her children at the Science fair the other night and Tiny just about had a heart attack when he saw them.

I’ve had a few people ask if I’m jealous of how much he loves her.

My response is this:

I’m thrilled that he spends his days with someone who makes him feel as safe and happy as she clearly does.  How wonderful if we all spent every second of our days feeling cherished and secure.  Jealous?  Not for a second.  Grateful?  Beyond words.