Are you there friends? It’s me, Jennifer.
Remember me? I’m the one who had a bit of a breakdown last month…but I’m back.
Today began just like any other day.
There’s
a scene in The Office where Robert California asks Erin to explain her morning
to him. She starts by saying “Well, I woke up, and -” to which he replies
“Erin, when you recount your day, never say you woke up. That’s a waste of your
time. That’s how every day is begun for everyone since the dawn of man.”
Enlightened, she says, “Very smart. Very Smart! … Suddenly, I was awake.”
Suddenly, I was awake. I ate my Pumpkin Spice
waffles, pulled together an outfit for a fashion show viewing this evening,
dragged my body to my car to follow (mindlessly) the windy roads to work. I
made my rounds, updated the ERP system, and read through several taxing emails.
The lunch bell rang and a sigh of relief inadvertently escaped me.
Just as I was routinely uncapping the
steam-filled Tupperware for my Monday lunch, I noticed two visitors at the
table next to me. After a brief introduction (artists (friends of my parents) from
California who had been performing in MN over the weekend), one of the singers
dove off into a pool of Creedence Clearwater Revival that instantly changed the
pace of my day. He crooned out a couple of Vietnamese songs intermittent with
funny (albeit foreign to me) banter. He capped the performance with a rendition
of “Let it Be,” which always sends pangs to my heart, no matter the
circumstance. There is something so sweet and tragic about this song that
brings tears to my eyes and a lump to my throat, every.single.time. And the
whole lunch room singing along? Guhhhhh.
While
we’re on the subject, I thought you should know that I hope that song is played
at my funeral. Morbid, but I’m a planner.
Perhaps it was more bittersweet that a blind
man was singing this, especially the line “I wake up to the sound of music,
Mother Mary comes to me…” because I can easily picture him waking to and
breathing music all of the time. I can’t help but feel a little bad for people
who have a handicap, even though I am sure they are in no need of my sympathy.
This man is 32 years old, an accomplished musician who gets to travel and do what
he loves, not to mention that his guitar skills are fascinating. And maybe if
it was not for his blindness, he wouldn’t be so in tune to his tunes.
Everything for a reason, right?
"Someone told me long ago - there's a calm before the storm. I know, it's been comin' for some time. When it's over, so they say, it'll rain a sunny day. I know, shinin' down like water. I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain? I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain...comin' down on a sunny day?"
Anyway, this is the merriest of Mondays for
his visit alone. It makes you stop and think and really hear the music.
