Rolling! Rolling down the River!

So I had an amazing opportunity to add to Fabulous Fifty adventures # 14 and #15 on Friday evening past. The new artists are Theresa Malenfant and Katy Day, the amazing band behind them the Instigators! Road Side Willies in Truro was the place to be. My best friend Suzanne and I, along with my husband Sid, danced the night away! I sing at the top of my lungs! It was night I will remember for a long time! It was a night to remember how much good music hits the soul, and how good it feels to shake your bootie! This evening also counts towards Fabulous Fifty Adventure # 21 - 50 ways to practice self care! Check out some of Theresa's and Katy's tunes at:

http://www.myspace.com/theresamalenfanttheinstigators/shows
http://youtu.be/gl51AdmhG-E

During the night I was reminded of some incredible songs that are so fun to sing. So adding Rolling on the River and You make me feel like a natural women to my list.

Rolling on the River seems to be a good theme song for starting the second half of life. Big wheel keep on turning, proud Eva keeps on burning! Wow I like the sound of that. Definitely have to commit to dancing more in the second half of life! 

Moving towards fabulous fifty adventure #39 I watched an incredible short film last night while wrapping Christmas presents. It was called A Finger, Two Dots, Then Me, performed by poet Derrick Brown. It is a reflection on life and love. The visuals and words were so beautiful! (not really a documentary but I am going to include shorts). The Poets rant about what is really Holy is out of this world. Made me stop and realize that the moments are so important! The times we laugh, the times we cry, the times we find ourselves asking why? Check out this poem on U Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ww4-d5FTvk

Which brings me to my first item for Fabulous Fifty Adventures # 41 - 50 meaningful questions in life. Following the amazing evening at Road Side Willies the band announced that the owner of the pub was not going to bring blues bands anymore because the crowds were just not coming out. The singers told of struggles to keep venues where they could perform. They jokingly talked about busking on the streets to pay the bills.  So my first meaningful question is this: "Why will people pay money to go violence, murders, pay for view fights, etc but not be willing to put out $12.00 for four hours of amazing entertainment. Why is it that the performing arts have to live a life of struggle? This should simply not be. When someone has the kind of talent that they two women have, they should never have to worry about money. When I think of the instant stardom those performing on American Idol, the X Factor, the Voice, and the fact that many cannot even sing, yet are making millions of dollars as a puppet behind a production machine. It makes my heart weep. 

So moving on to Fabulous Fifty Adventure #27 I wish to say I love you in German to all those performing artists who bring such joy to our lives, music to our souls, and rhythm to our bodies: Ich liebe dich.

I took a very special lady to lunch today. Nanny Eileen, the wonderful women who provided child care for my daughters for over 10 years. What a blessing this woman was and continues to be in my life. I remember the day I interviewed her for the job. I was a nervous wreck, I was so frightened about leaving my new baby with someone I did not know. I actually had another lady lined up, but she canceled at the last moment. I remember how calm Eileen was during the interview. Over the next ten years she shared the calmness with my family. She was never late, don't think she missed more than one day a year if even that, she cleaned my house, she loved my girls, and she became my dogs best friend.  They still get so excited when she comes for a visit. The dogs and the girls! My life has been busy, ups and downs, so much to do, and so many friends that get lost in the shuffle. But Eileen always finds the time to call to see how we are all doing, even if I forget to call her back. So today I took my special friend to lunch. It was lovely. I got to deliver her very late birthday present. We shared stories about our friends, and reminisced. We questioned why some people have such a hard life, and we laughed alot. It was a sacred space, my time with her today. She is truly an amazing women. 

Spent a very nice afternoon with Sid and the dogs. We visited a place we had never had been before. (Fab 50 Ad # 5) and revisted another sacred space (Fab 50 Ad #17) the beautiful watershed lake at the top of Victoria Park. We are so blessed in our little town to have such an amazing treasure. Victoria Park has provided a place of adventure, solitude, a bench to plan our honeymoon, trails to walk our dogs, waterfall pools to cool off in, mushrooms to hunt and draw, woods to play Man Hunt, sprinklers to run through, swings to reach for the sky on, concerts to listen to, beautiful scenery to photograph, trails to ride bikes on, and squirrels to chase. We have spent a great deal of time in this park as a family but I had never been on the trail that Sid and I and the dogs took today. When we reached the lake at the watershed I glanced across and had wonderful memories of walking the trails around that lake with my girls, tossing rocks into the water, eating our little picnics, and all of the great photos of my girls and their friends. The lake was quiet today, not a soul in site. We held hands and laughed as we recalled the how quickly time has passed. 

Tonight I listened to Martin Luther Kings "I have a dream!" speech. I had no idea which speech would be the first that I review (Fab 50 Ad # 19). As I read I realized that this speech is so tied to my Virtue of the Week - Respect. Up to tonight I only a few occasions where the virtue came up. A few times in movies or on TV when someone was demanding respect from someone else. I had a couple of situations where I had to respect other peoples decisions even though I wished they had made different choices. But tonight as I listened to this speech, the power of respect was so present. Respect for the rights of every human being is probably the most sacred level of respect there is. This speech is also very memorable to me as when I was a young girl we had a record album with a song on it, in which key phrases from this speech were included. My Dad loved that song, and it was one of only a few times I ever saw my Dad cry. He asked me to play that song over and over again. I remember thinking about how moved he was by the words and music. I cannot remember the song right now. But I will find it, as I am now sure it will be one I want to learn the words too. 

Well, tonight's post has been a bit all over the place but I hope you have enjoyed. If you have any comments please feel free to post, or to address the "important life question". I would love to hear your thoughts. Also if you have a special sacred space that you would like to share, or an example of where you have seen the virtue of respect in action, or called for. Jump in, it's kind of fun! 

Until tomorrow.... just keep moving on.