I have been traveling back and forth to Boston with a fair amount of frequency. Helping my daughter and her young family navigate an exceptionally busy schedule. The drive from Vermont to Boston is pleasant and dependable. Music always plays and I steal the moment to catch up with a best friend…
Sorting through children’s clothing in my eldest granddaughter’s room just a few days ago. Seems like she was just born yet I can’t remember life before her. Both granddaughters permanently affixed to my heart. Bins of outgrown clothing were being shifted, sorted and passed on. Growing impossibly fast as Belle is now 4 ½ and Joey nearly 2. Straight haired and curly. Respectively. Two sisters unique unto themselves. Hoping Joey will embrace her curls more than I ever have mine. Pixie haircuts by default for years to try and mange my tresses or maybe me. Neither were successful…
Some fashions were relegated to the attic until my youngest granddaughter sizes up and into a particular number. Remember when Belle wore this? I would say to my daughter. We took a moment to recollect, smile and share a for instance. My daughter and I have no shortage of conversation as idle chatter blended with instructions about the task at hand. This mother daughter team redefined by adulthood. Motherhood…
The next morning before the first creak of the kitchen wooden floor my daughter had left for work. I popped up to greet her before she was out the door. I just wanted that simple moment to see her off and know she was ok.
I paddled into the kitchen as to quietly prepare for the day. Coffee first. Always. The coffee maker burped and hissed while emitting the most familiar fragrance of the day. Eager for the first cup I interrupted the brew as I needed to onboard caffeine asap. The day would be in full swing, shortly. Kibble and water for their Brittany Spaniel. Getting a few steps ahead before the girls woke up was the immediate moment to meet. The details of the day…
Pajamas to school clothes. Play clothes. Breakfast and teeth brushing. Hair too. My purpose this visit was to be a help. Happy to help and loathe the thought of one day being a burden. That day will come soon enough I fearfully imagined. Issues of aging seem ever present these days. Walking toward that sunset moment at a pace I deplore. At a recent medical appt the surgeon told my husband and I that “Boomers” don’t age well. Meaning we Boomers refuse to accept aging. I agreed. A contemporary who knew of what he spoke as he clearly had sat with his own pensive thoughts…
Summer pj’s and light footies made their morning appearance while running into my arms for “good morning, Gram” hugs and kisses. I handed my son-in-law Jon a fresh pour while we were being interrupted by questions and requests as I headed to the fridge for milk. The girls were animated and already fully engaged in the day. One task led to the next while Jon mentioned to me that he had listened to the Rock ‘n’ roll band The Moody Blues the other day and really liked them. I perked up as it is never too early in the day to talk about music or Rock n’ roll. Plus, what is not to love about the Moddy Blues. He had listened to Nights in White Satin, so I grabbed my phone and brought the song up on YouTube. He acknowledged that it was in fact the song he had heard. I let it play for a moment or two before I introduced Tuesday Afternoon to him. He responded happily acknowledging that he may have heard this song as well and would add an album to his playlist. The girls knew nothing of this Rock band from my youth, but it mattered not…
Early morning gray glowed warm in their kitchen. Hearts happy. Music and dancing filled the quiet hours as the kitchen transformed into a concert hall and the oak flooring a dance floor. Slippery pajamas eased Joey’s dancing feet. Spinning and twirling. Squeals and hair swirling as the dancing intensified. Belle danced with her dad and I with her sister. Moves more resembling gymnastics than the 70’s but we hit it hard…
Jon and I continued to talk Rock n roll while we prepped the girl’s breakfast. Tom Petty and Neil Young. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band too. The Moody Blues were particularly symphonically impressive I mentioned to Jon. Possibly the Moody Blues orchestration had influenced Freddie Mercury and Queen? We stretched and continued the conversation to the breakfast table. Jon understood the Boomer heart of his mother-in-law and patiently indulged me in a story or two. More like three or four…
I confessed to Jon that as a young teenager I would sneak into my older brother’s bedroom while he was at work after school. My brother Bob had a turntable, an extensive record collection and headphones. I would ever so carefully put the Moody Blue’s album “Every Good Boy Deserves Favour” on the turntable and place the headset comfortably over my ears and sink into the music floating through my head. I would dream. I used to love to dream. I find it hard to dream now. I would take great care to return everything to its “never been touched” status yet caught I often was, but the penalty never severe, and I returned to the scene of the crime as often as possible…
“I felt that the elegance of pop music was that it was reflective: we were holding up a mirror to our audience and reflecting them philosophically and spiritually, rather than just reflecting society or something called ‘rock and roll.’ “–Pete Townshend
Discover more from It's Complicated
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
