Tennis Ball Music

My five year old granddaughter is a great deal of fun. I am doing my best to encourage all her interests, especially ones we share. And we both love music.

I have over 12,000 songs in my music library. I get them from the library, mostly, and rip them to my hard drive. It’s fun, and I get to try different types of music and give it a chance to grow on me. Still having a hard time with RAP, but I guess I just haven’t found the right songs yet.

Catey loves to drum. She has been drumming since before she could talk, banging her hands on surfaces, and then learning to pick up assorted tools to strike different objects, getting distinctive noises. It was lots of fun to experiment with her; showing her how it sounds to bang on a plastic tray, and then the difference of banging on a metal pot. Her eyes would get wide, and she would get a delighted grin on her face.


Now that she is five years old, we play music. We go through my music library, listening for a few moments to each song. If she is interested in the song she will ask me about it, and if she really likes it she will have me put it on a CD to play in the car when her mother is driving. She brings me over her CDs to put on my computer, just in case I don’t have Raggs the Dogg and his repertoire in the computer’s memory.

I have some crazy blank CDs I picked up somewhere: there are two each of five different designs of balls. Catey wants all of her songs on these CDs. So far she has baseball and basketball, and the other day we made tennis ball. (I have to admit that I didn’t know it was a tennis ball, Catey just called it that and that is when I recognized it!)


Her Basketball CD is all Southern Rock songs that have a fast beat and really rock, like Refried Funky Chicken by the Dixie Dregs, and The South’s Gonna Do It Again by Charlie Daniels Band. We branched out with the Baseball CD, where I introduced her to some fun songs like Who Let the Dogs Out by Baha Men and If I Had a Million Dollars by Barenaked Ladies, and even Beep Beep (Little Nash Rambler) by the Playmates.

The newest CD is the Tennis Ball CD. She really likes how some songs start slow and get faster like Beep Beep and 30,000 Pounds of Bananas. So every song that starts slow she’ll ask, “Does it get faster, Grandma?” and if it does, she’ll listen to the whole song before she decides to reject it or keep it. Other slower songs are immediately passed by, to find something with a faster beat. It’s fun seeing what she’ll like.


So we made the Tennis Ball CD. A few days later we were in the kitchen cooking and I was playing one of my CDs, maybe Paul Simon, which was not rock and roll enough for her. She went and got the Tennis Ball CD out of her backpack and we put that on, and we were singing the songs and dancing a bit while I did dishes. And then the Le Freak came on. Do you remember it? “Freak OUT!” It’s a disco song – great rhythmic beat, right out of my late teen years. And do you know what Catey said when she heard it? She said, “I like this song, Grandma. It’s from the movie 102 Dalmatians.”

For some reason, this made me lose my mind, and shriek with laughter. OK, Catey. Got ‘cha. This 1978 disco hit by Chic, one of the greatest hits of the last 50 years, on the Billboard charts for seven weeks, the best selling song of all time for Atlantic Records, and Catey’s reference is the Disney Movie 102 Dalmatians.

Now I can’t tell you if Le Freak is in that movie or not, but I can tell you I’ll never hear it again without cracking up. But I am pretty happy that Catey is having this great musical education and that she has such eclectic tastes in music.

The last time she came over she made up her own song and sang it for a solid hour. While I was cooking. And tired. “I’m going to sing it over and over again, Grandma, and you tell me which one you think is the best, OK?” OK, Catey. You’ve got it. I’m glad you’re singing, my darling. Keep singing. I’ll keep introducing you to great music, and when you find the music you love, you share it with me. And make up your own songs. And sing them loud, OK?

Here are all the songs on Catey’s Tennis Ball CD:

Le Freak by Chic
Splish Splash by Bobby Darin
Yakety Yak by the Coasters
Lollypop by the Chordettes
The Name Game by Shirley Ellis
A Spoonful of Sugar by Disney
The Monkey’s Uncle by Disney
The Ugly Bug’s Ball by Disney
The Work Song by Disney
Minnie’s Yoo Hoo by Disney
Papa Oom Mow Mow by the Persuasions
Gitarzan by Ray Stevens
The Streak by Ray Stevens
Funiculi Funicula by Raggs Kidds Club Band

 Baseball CD:

Who Let the Dogs Out? by Baha Men
Beep Beep (The Little Nash Rambler by The Playmates
Under the Sea by Disney
The Hokey Pokey by Ray Anthony
The Work Song by Disney
If I Had a Million Dollars by Bare Naked Ladies
Car Wash by I am not sure which version this is…
Chim Chim-Cherrie by Disney
Traffic Jam by James Taylor
Hot Rod Lincoln by - I can’t figure it out…
A Spoonful of Sugar by Disney
Workin’ at the Carwash Blues by Jim Croce
Start Me Up by the Rolling Stones
Gimme Some Lovin’ by The Spencer Davis Group
Cadillac Car from Dreamgirls Soundtrack
(Don’t Fear) The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult

Basketball CD: (songs are all from the album Southern Rock Gold)

Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skinner
Heard it in a Love Song by The Marshall Tucker Band
If You Wanna Get To Heaven by
The South’s Gonna Do It Again by Charlie Daniels Band
Champagne Jam by Atlantic Rhythm Section
Guitar Town by Steve Earl
Walk Softly on This Heart of Mine by the Kentucky Headhunters
Nothing Matters But the Fever by Sea Level
Refried Funky Chicken by the Dixie Dregs
Keep Your Hands to Yourself by the Georgia Satellites
Only You and I Know by Delaney and Bonnie
Keep On Smilin’ by Wet Willie
Dixie Chicken by Little Feat
There Goes Another Love Song by The Outlaws
Street Corner Serenade by Wet Willie
Travelin’ Shoes by Elvin Bishop
Don’t Misunderstand Me by Rossington-Collins Band
Free Bird by Lynyrd Skinner

My Twentieth Anniversary

A million years ago, or just yesterday, I married the most wonderful man. It seems like we have been together forever. But I can remember the happiness of walking down the aisle towards my handsome husband, grinning like a fool, as if it just happened yesterday.

My Patrick has been a fun partner and a loyal friend. He has been a stalwart anchor for our family, a sweet and generous lover, a kind man that greets the world with open arms and a smile. He is a happy soul with unlimited energy, drive, determination, and ability to achieve anything he wants. He is a man who is in touch with his feelings, and he brings out the best in others. I feel extremely lucky that he chose me to be his partner – twenty years ago today.

We met in September of 1987 – he was going through a painful divorce, and I was recovering from my mother’s death of just the year before. It took me five long years to recover from the fallout of my own divorce, and I had two young children and a handicapped sister that depended on me. Life was OK; maybe a little hard. And then I met Patrick.

We must have known each other before, in other lifetimes, because I felt so drawn to him right from the beginning. It was like coming home. We had so much fun together, from outings to watching TV movies, and laughter is woven throughout all my memories.

It hasn’t been all fun and games; we’ve had our hard times. Raising children that aren’t yours by birth is not the easiest job; Pat struggled with two teenage girls and all the emotional upheaval that means. Job troubles, health troubles, family troubles, we’ve been through it all in various degrees. But we’ve had each other, so I can’t remember many details of the hard times, because having Patrick hold me in his arms when I was despairing made all the unhappy details disappear.

You get addicted to the constancy of love when it’s good. You lean into it. You count on it. You need it.

Sometimes I wonder who I am without Patrick. Am I still the same person without his love and support? Is it possible to define who I am without defining who I love and who loves me? I don’t know anymore. The lines are so blurry. But I like it like this. I love reaching out and feeling him right there.

He is my biggest fan. He supports everything I do. He thinks I am smart, and beautiful, and sexy. And because he sees me that way, I am.

I love his stories. I admire his generosity, his friendliness, his work ethic. I respect him, I enjoy him, I love him. I hope he knows how much.

I am so happy that I have had these years with him. Bonus years. I know I’m lucky for what I’ve had, but I am selfishly praying for at least twenty more. I’ll keep taking care of him, giving him vitamins and backrubs. Because he is mine. And I love him.

Happy Anniversary, Patrick. I love you. ~Your Janice


September 29, 1990 ~ September 29, 2010

Peace

My sister has been visiting – she was here for ten days. She went home on Tuesday, and to tell you the truth, much as I love her, I was ready for her to go. Somehow I became so worn down, so tired, so depleted. It wasn’t just her visit; it was life and all its demands, too.


After she left on Tuesday I sat in my red recliner and read. I finished a book I had started and read its sequel by 11 PM. On Wednesday I still felt listless and tired, but my five-year-old granddaughter came over and we played until dinnertime, I cooked dinner, and visited with our neighbors. Today I had an appointment to cut and color my hair, something that really needed doing, but I didn’t want to go. I was just feeling so worn down. There are so many things on my TO-DO list. But I did go.


And a funny thing happened. I was sitting in the chair with my head in the sink. My hair was being washed. The warm water felt good and Renee's fingers massaging my scalp felt wonderful. Suddenly I felt this feeling of peace come over me. The load lifted. Right then, there was no TO-DO list. I didn’t have to do anything, just sit there and shut my eyes and enjoy it.


I wasn’t talking because I was too tired, and it’s amazing how just shutting up can change you. I felt a stillness inside that I rarely feel. I almost wondered if my internal fire had gone out.


I still feel it now, and recognize it for what it is. It is that connection to the universe, to the Creator that is sometimes so elusive. I almost always feel that connection as JOY!!! (with exclamation points) but I realized today that I can feel that connection with a quiet deep happiness that is beautiful. Peaceful.


Living in this state of being is nice. I had a conversation that sometimes would make me feel defensive, but today I recognized just the need for information. I didn’t feel resentment when I started to make dinner, just a calm feeling of accomplishing a necessary task. My husband walked by me as I did the dishes and I felt a blaze of love go out to him.


I like this feeling. It is nice. I will have to remember to shut up more and find this place. This is a good place. This is wholeness.


~Jan