Gees - I almost forgot my way around this blog (it took awhile to remember how to even start a new post!). Having gotten sucked into Facebook and all the other ways to communicate online these days, my blog has really gotten dusty!
Had to share some more exciting news! We have been sooooooooooo blessed in receiving an opportunity to attend an intimate accoustic concert here in town by one of my favorite music groups/artists, Five For Fighting (aka: John Ondrasik)!!!!!!!!!!!! His song, "100 Years", may or may not be playing on my blog as you read this (I added it a long time ago, but lately sometimes it disappears) because it holds a special place in my memory of our time with Emma. We used this song, along with, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on our dvd slideshow that we played at Emma's memorial service. Here is the story as to how we chose that song...
I had attended a health seminar through work where the subject matter was "Dealing with Diversity in Health Care" or something like that. Anyway, one of the speakers was a mother and father who, while pregnant with a baby girl, learned that she had a serious, terminal condition and was not expected to live very long. I am not doing this family justice because I can not remember any names or even the condition this little girl had, but their message still rings loud and clear in my mind. The reason they were chosen to speak, given the subject matter, was that even though their daughter's days were numbered before she arrived, it meant so much to them to have health care providers treat her as they would any other patient - as if her life still mattered (which, we all know, of course it did!). Their daughter beat the odds and ended up living eight precious years. When they knew her time was drawing near, her siblings, as part of their healing, wanted to throw her one last birthday party and they decided to have it be her 100th birthday! That is why they played this song during their presentation. Of course, there was not a dry eye in the room and, as morbid as this sounds, I remember my co-worker and I commenting on how moving that song was and how we wanted it to play at our funerals someday. Little did I know what my future held...
So, fast forward to our story and you can probably guess that I didn't even have to think twice about what song we should play. Of all the preparations to be made, all that mattered to me (in my complete state of shock) about the whole process was the music. She was only here two short days and that song just reminds us all of how precious our time here really is. It was and continues to be a huge part in my healing. It always seems to play on the radio at all the right times and was even constantly blasted over the tv in a credit card commerical shortly there after (coincidentally, that was the same time they used the "Over the Rainbow" song for the black and white Rice Krispies ad - sniff!).
Anyway, I dont know what tonight has in store and I am certain that if given the chance to meet, John, the lead singer, I'd probably trip over my words and never be able to truly express to him what a gift he has given to us through his music, but hopefully I've been able to at least express that here.
Had to share some more exciting news! We have been sooooooooooo blessed in receiving an opportunity to attend an intimate accoustic concert here in town by one of my favorite music groups/artists, Five For Fighting (aka: John Ondrasik)!!!!!!!!!!!! His song, "100 Years", may or may not be playing on my blog as you read this (I added it a long time ago, but lately sometimes it disappears) because it holds a special place in my memory of our time with Emma. We used this song, along with, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on our dvd slideshow that we played at Emma's memorial service. Here is the story as to how we chose that song...
I had attended a health seminar through work where the subject matter was "Dealing with Diversity in Health Care" or something like that. Anyway, one of the speakers was a mother and father who, while pregnant with a baby girl, learned that she had a serious, terminal condition and was not expected to live very long. I am not doing this family justice because I can not remember any names or even the condition this little girl had, but their message still rings loud and clear in my mind. The reason they were chosen to speak, given the subject matter, was that even though their daughter's days were numbered before she arrived, it meant so much to them to have health care providers treat her as they would any other patient - as if her life still mattered (which, we all know, of course it did!). Their daughter beat the odds and ended up living eight precious years. When they knew her time was drawing near, her siblings, as part of their healing, wanted to throw her one last birthday party and they decided to have it be her 100th birthday! That is why they played this song during their presentation. Of course, there was not a dry eye in the room and, as morbid as this sounds, I remember my co-worker and I commenting on how moving that song was and how we wanted it to play at our funerals someday. Little did I know what my future held...
So, fast forward to our story and you can probably guess that I didn't even have to think twice about what song we should play. Of all the preparations to be made, all that mattered to me (in my complete state of shock) about the whole process was the music. She was only here two short days and that song just reminds us all of how precious our time here really is. It was and continues to be a huge part in my healing. It always seems to play on the radio at all the right times and was even constantly blasted over the tv in a credit card commerical shortly there after (coincidentally, that was the same time they used the "Over the Rainbow" song for the black and white Rice Krispies ad - sniff!).
Anyway, I dont know what tonight has in store and I am certain that if given the chance to meet, John, the lead singer, I'd probably trip over my words and never be able to truly express to him what a gift he has given to us through his music, but hopefully I've been able to at least express that here.
***Addendum: Added 08/05/09 post show: obviously by the pictures, the show far exceeded my expectations (except that it was way too short!), but I was blessed to sit far too close, in fact, so close that John noticed I was crying (sorry for the distraction!). How could I help it when one of the 5 songs he played was "100 Years"! The worst part is that my tears were for different reasons than I'm sure what musicians/celebrities these days are used to. Anyway, I did get a chance to explain that to him, as he even commented on my tears (how embarrassing!). Bottom line, I wasn't deserving of such a great show, but I will forever treasure that experience! My only complaint is that Josh just missed capturing 'the hug' on film (the last picture was just seconds after the fact - bummer!)
