The girls and their wings - October 2010
Music is a big part of my life. It can get me excited for a night out with friends, cheer me up when I am down, keep me sane when I am driving carpools all day, and make me think about our life's journeys. You know how a song can come along at just the right moment that it seems to mirror your life, and you find yourself connected to it? That's what a great song is to me. Lately, a lot of the songs I have been listening to naturally make me think about my girls, especially C and all the challenges she is working through and overcoming. She is such a fabulous little girl (well, both of them are!). I thought it might be fun to share with you readers some of what we are listening to these days - who knows, maybe you'll see yourselves in their lyrics, too!
When I was in high school, I went to my first Buffett concert, and let me tell you, it was a scene like none other I had ever experienced. Thousands of people - some dressed up in costumes, some not; some drunk, some not - were there just to have a good time and step into a kinder, more relaxed, more free-spirited world, if only for a few hours. In college and beyond, I enjoyed more than a few cocktails at his shows (which took it to a whole other level - hee hee). And now, I am passing on my Parrothead pride to my daughters as we listen to Radio Margaritaville on XM almost daily. It's so much fun that they each have favorite songs!
One of my current favorites is the song you hear playing right now is "Wings" by Jimmy Buffett and Wil Kimbrough, which is on Jimmy's album, "Buffett Hotel." It's a song about flying, your imagination, and following your dreams. The back story to it is that it was inspired by a trip to St. Barth back in the 70's. He connected with the island and its locals, and invited some of them onto his boat one night to watch "The Wizard of Oz" - one of the only movies he had on-board at the time. It was a magical night for some of the kids, especially. In Jimmy's words:
"I was getting the kids’ reaction to seeing it for the first time (it was probably my 500th),
when one of them popped up and said, “I can go to Oz anytime I want.”
“Oh really,” I answered, “How can you do that?” “Because I have a car,”
he answered. “Really?” I asked. Well, for a ten year old on an island with
about twenty total cars at that time, I asked him, “Where do you keep this car?”
He smiled, pointed to the side of his head, and replied “It’s in my brain.”
I hope you all keep that childish way of figuring out how
to use the wings you can’t see or the wheels on your feet,
and I hope you use them often."
I think I would love it no matter what, but its lyrics are especially resonant with me as we are on this journey with our kids. There's one verse in particular that I think sums up not only what we are going through with C and her SPD, but really about what it means to be a parent:
"...Maybe if you open up your mind
You might learn some things
God only knows what you might find
Floatin’ on those wings
You can try to fly away from all your problems
Well I’m here to say
That ain’t the way to solve them
I can only help you with your wings
That you can’t see
We have wings that we can’t see
We have wheels on our feet
Way up high we’ll be free
On these wings we can’t see..."
It's our job to make sure they are finding their wings and using them in the best way they can. I hope that one day, my husband and I can look back and see that we've done what we needed to do. Happy Tuesday, readers! I hope that you are finding your wings, too!
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