Virtual Mix Tape- Vol. 4, Part 1 Summer Jams!

 I was discussing summer songs with a friend about a month ago. You know those songs that always take you back to that certain summer every time you hear it on the radio. She was lamenting how now that she was an adult, the summer song seemed to have become a thing of the past. I told her that for me, the only thing that had changed with summer songs was how they came about. When I was young and carefree and spent my days hanging out with friends, laying out by the pool, driving with the windows down in the cool of the night with the radio blaring; my summer song had chosen me. Now that the days of summer breaks are long gone, I find I  have to be the one to choose my summer song. That's just the way life changes and evolves and it doesn't make my summer song any less memorable. With that in mind, I offer the fourth installment of my virtual mix tapes....full of summer songs past and present. All of these songs are tied up with so many great summer memories, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Forever- Haim

Your Love- The Outfield

Forever Yellow Skies- The Cranberries

Steal My Sunshine- Len

Breakfast at Tiffany's- Deep Blue Something

Chandelier- Sia

Ray of Light- Madonna

Free Fallin- Tom Petty

Raspberry Beret- Prince

No video with music available, click HERE for a Spotify link

Beautiful Day- U2

The Tide is High- Blondie

My Dream Man- 25 Years after Getting Ready for Greatness

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the release of Say Anything and that is tantamount to a national holiday in my eyes! (See what I did there?) This evening I am snuggling in and watching my all-time favorite movie for the ga-zillionth time.

After 25 years I can say with even more enthusiasm than ever that Lloyd Dobler is still my dream man.

I've written about Lloyd and Say Anything many times over the years (you can read a past blog about this subject HERE) and I couldn't let this milestone pass without writing about it once again. My wise lovey mom has always said, "The reasons I fell in love with your dad are not the reasons I love him today" and the same can be said for my love of Lloyd. What starry-eyed teen wouldn't swoon when Lloyd kicks the glass out of Diane's way while walking her home or be able to resist that iconic image of Lloyd holding up the boombox while blasting "In Your Eyes"?

But, the reasons I fell in love with Lloyd are not the same reasons I love him today.

As an adult, what I love about Lloyd is his confidence. As he contemplates his future beyond graduation he's confident that he doesn't know what he wants to do with his life aside from kickboxing ("the sport of the future"). When someone asks him how it happened that Diane was his date to their graduation party he confidently explains, "I'm Lloyd Dobler!" And when Diane's father asks him about his plans for the future, Lloyd confidently explains that he plans to spend as much time with his daughter as possible.

Coupled with that confidence is his unassuming strength. [On the outside chance that you've been living under a rock for 25 years, I must say, "spoiler alert!"] Knowing that Diane will regret leaving the country if she doesn't make some sort of effort to reconcile with her father (a man who has made no secret about his disdain for Lloyd), he hand delivers a letter to him when she thinks she can't face him yet.

And, 25 years later, I also really dig the fact that Lloyd showed that he's got an ear for great music as evidenced by the then-little-known Red Hot Chili Peppers playing in his car at the beginning of the movie.

Thank you, Cameron Crowe for 25 years of greatness!

Aging Parents

In the past few months, I've realized that my not having raised any children has put me at a distinct disadvantage for caring for my aging parents. Make no mistake, my parents aren't in need of full-time care, but there are many things that I have tried to start helping with because they should be able to take it easier as they get older. The list of things they have reluctantly relinquished to me is quite short but I'm hoping these small things will ease the way for when we have to tackle the really BIG things.

That brings me to this morning.

My mother is in Texas helping my sister. When she was preparing to leave, her only instruction for me was, "Make sure your father eats." Easy enough! That's already one less instruction than given in Gremlins and we know how that turned out. Oh! That's right........they had two simple instructions to follow and they failed miserably. Still, I only have the one instruction and I'm a pretty decent cook, so I've got this!

......or maybe not.

Last night I asked my father what he wanted for dinner. He said, "Oh, I've already eaten". Well, the first night is going smoothly! He's an adult and he's already fed himself. I think to myself with an imagined fist pump, "Sweet! This is going to be cakewalk!" I make myself some dinner and that's the smooth end to day one of making sure my father eats.

This morning as I'm preparing to leave for work, I hear my father come in from taking the dog out. He has no idea that I'm in the next room and I hear him talking to the dog. [By the way, talking to the dog is a totally common occurrence and in no way illustrates any diminished mental capabilities.]

"Well, Mollie, if Papa passes out are you going to be able to help him?"
[Silence from the dog]
"You can bark for help, right?"
[More silence from the dog]

Since Mollie doesn't seem willing to help, I step into the room and he looks up at me like a 5 year old who got caught doing something.

"Ummmmmm......did you tell Mollie you thought you might pass out?"
"Oh, I'm just feeling dizzy", he said.
"Did you stand up too fast?" I ask trying to determine WHY he's feeling dizzy.
"No, I was feeling dizzy before I got out of bed."

Well, that makes it better........NOT!

Since he will be home alone once I leave for my workday [except for Mollie, who seemed reluctant to offer her best Lassie impersonation should he pass out or fall down a well], I decide I need to wait until the dizziness subsides so I don't come home to him passed out on the floor with a bump on his noggin!

I ask more questions trying to determine what's causing the dizziness and my fact finding leads me to this question:

"What did you have for dinner last night?" [Remember, the easy first night when he told me he's already eaten dinner? Wait for it.......]

"Popcorn"

"Excuse me? You had popcorn for dinner? What did you have for lunch?"
"I didn't have time for lunch yesterday."

And, there you have it! No lunch and popcorn for dinner. I send a text my first client and tell her I'll be late so I can make my father some breakfast. As I start to the kitchen I hear him say, "I can just drive to the donut shop and get some breakfast."

Seriously?!? You just told the dog you might pass out and you think you should get in your truck and drive? This must be the equivalent of what a baby might say if he could talk as he crawls towards the electrical outlet! "I'll be fine! You go on to work! I'm just going to crawl over and lick this electrical outlet".

Needless to say, I made him some breakfast and left him with instructions to EAT LUNCH!

Only one instruction! How hard can that be?

'Twas the Night Before....

As if I were a child on Christmas Eve, I lie here in bed with my heart full of excitement. Excitement because The Emperor has come to town! Even now, as I write this, he's a scant 20 minutes from where I will try to sleep tonight! I would probably find it too difficult to wait until Saturday if it weren't for tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will make the journey to my beloved OKC where an abbreviated, yet illustrious, number of the Jet Set will gradually make their way to celebrate. Celebrate what? We celebrate US! We celebrate all the things which have happened in the 4 months since we last gathered for Gateway Glitterati. Global journeys which have come to an end, marriages, partings, new love, old love, the anticipation of true equality for so many of our motley crew and friendship- deep and abiding!

Elite like the cloak and dagger secret societies of the ivy-league schools, the Jet Set makes no move to keep our gatherings a secret. One may find themselves in the midst of one of our gatherings (it takes only an invitation from a Jet Setter for one to attend) but it takes a nod from The Emperor to become a Jet Setter. One never knows where or when the next Jet Set event might manifest but one must be willing to travel at some point in order to keep up with our crowd.

What I love so much about the Jet Set is our diversity! When we gather, the amount of sheer wit, intelligence, success, beauty and fun are staggering! That's why I get so excited when we're able to get together.......fun and debauchery of epic proportions are about to go down.

So, I will try to sleep as I think about all the fun but I doubt I'll get much rest!