If You've A Mind To

One of our most challenging times of every day is waking up then getting ready to go somewhere. Most every time, it is some struggle to easily do this. One of us is sleepy or maybe grumpy or just slow.

As the adults in our household, Jennifer and I set alarms to nudge us out of slumber and into the reality of a new day. We won’t discuss how many alarms it takes to do this or the length of time it takes from when the first alarm sounds until when the last one gets turned off but just know there is more than one alarm and they sound off multiple times each morning.

With Hannah, there is no such alarm yet. She has to rely on us as her parents to somehow get her moving most every morning. Granted, there are some unusual ways we have tried to do this. We have told knock-knock jokes, spoken and sung in strange voices, worn odd, makeshift hats and even barked like a dog on more than one occasion in an attempt to get the day started.

One of Hannah’s favorite ways to get her day going is through music. Jennifer has a selection of songs on her phone that she has put together for just this purpose and it is used frequently. I like to do this as well. My song list though features one song that I hope Hannah carries with her the rest of her life.

Roger Miller was a tremendously talented artist. He could put song lyrics together in wonderfully vivid ways. He could also perform them in sometimes serious ways and other times in off-the-wall ways. One of those wacky tunes is a song called “You Can’t Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd”. In the song Miller lists absurdity after absurdity:

“You can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd.”

“You can’t take a shower in a parakeet cage.”

“You can’t go swimming in a baseball pool.”

“You can’t drive around with a tiger in your car.”

“You can’t go fishing in a watermelon patch.”

While I want Hannah to believe she can do anything she wants to do, over time she will learn reality will come into play. Her talents and gifts will enable her to do many of the things she wishes to do but sometimes some of those things she wants to accomplish will just not happen. At times, that type of failure can be out of our own control. Even if that is the case that part of life can still make a body frustrated or aggravated. That is why the rest of Roger Miller’s song is something I always want Hannah to remember:

“But you can be happy if you’ve a mind to

All you gotta do is put your mind to it

Knuckle down, buckle down, do it, do it, do it”

Admittedly, there are days when I need to remember it, too especially in a world where it seems no one wants any one else to be happy. Still, happiness is a choice and one well worth making, but only if you've a mind to.

Roger Miller: "You Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd" on YouTube

Seven-Oh!

On a recent Saturday, the family who were able to do so gathered at the house our family has called home for decades. Three days after they married, my Mom and Dad bought this house, moved in then have spent their entire married life here. On this day, we celebrated their seventy years together.

We all love the two of them individually. I would say every family member would like to emulate their best parts in some way. Some of us inherited some of those traits but we would be quick to admit those parts aren’t as polished or as useful as the ones they have.

We all love the two of them together. Being together seventy years says something. The sarcastic side of society often mocks marriage itself and with it such milestones. We celebrate it aware of the rough edges, the hurts and disappointments that came along for the ride during those years but grateful the good memories surpass any bad memories that may arise.

The celebration was a very simple time together. A few surprise visits, grilled steaks and a cake were the highlights. It stopped raining for a day. This allowed the March weather to cooperate so that most of the activity took place outdoors. Grandkids ran through the yard in the same way so many of us have done in bygone years. The rest of us squinted through the rays of the sun to see the faces of family soaking in the warmth on this special day.

As the two of them grow older together, we see them aging before our eyes. We see first hand some of the health issues that come from habits and the mere passing of time. We see how some of the routine of everyday life has shifted often making the new routine harder than ever on the two of them.

Still, seventy years of marriage is a landmark few couples will ever reach. It didn’t just happen without effort. It wasn’t always an easy path to travel. To them, it became something to stick with and not walk away from when things got tough. It took a promise between the two of them coupled with a shared determination for it all to last as long as their lives together.

Selfishly, I hope it lasts at least seventy more years.

Mom and Dad, Mammaw and Pappaw, we love you!