Thank You For The Music

Mamma Mia, Mamma Mia, Mamma Mia! I just returned from the theater. I love Mamma Mia. I love the music, I love the story. I love that that the music fits the story perfectly, like a well engineered puzzle. I always tear up at the beginning when Sophie is putting the invitations in the mailbox and singing about her dream, as I am reminded of the first 30 years of my life when I had that very same dream. Actually, I tear up repeatedly throughout the show...as Donna is reunited with old friends, as the friends reminisce about old times, as Sophie meets her three prospective fathers, as Donna prepares for her only daughter's wedding day and I think of the days that will come when it will be time for Chris and I to face each of our children beginning their own adult lives. I'm pretty sure the smile never left my face.

Stories feed the human spirit. Whether your food of choice is music, books, theater, television, movies, or all of the above, chances are not many days go by that you don't feed yourself with some sort of story. Maybe you like to get your stories directly from the source, from talking to other people, or writing your own. Whatever your chosen form, if you don't feed your spirit with stories, maybe you feel like something is missing...a connection to the greater picture...a connection to the world around and beyond you.

If you haven't yet had the chance to see the stage production of Mamma Mia, you should at least watch the movie. The movie is beautiful, with it's lovely Greek backdrop. I love it too - maybe not quite as much as the play because there is something sort of magical about plays, but it's definitely one of my favorite movies. And if you just can't get enough ABBA, another great movie is Muriel's Wedding, starring Toni Collette. Great is a ridiculously weak adjective, but anyway, it's a movie I love and Toni Collette is genius in it. Even if you fall a little short of loving ABBA, you should definitely still watch this Australian classic. It's not a musical, so ABBA doesn't exactly infiltrate every scene like it does in Mamma Mia.


It's just another snowy (April) day in Michigan. There is no longer any room for surprise in regards to weather around here. I painted my toe nails last week for goodness sake! And last night we had to turn our furnace back on. However, there is something sweet and transient about April snow...but if I have to get the snow shovel out of the garage, I might have a minor breakdown.

Tell us, wise Yoda, is the Dark Side infiltrating the weather system?

See those trees there, in the middle of our cul de sac? The kids like to play in the middle of them, it's like a little hideout. A few days ago, a door appeared, propped up between the trees. Then this morning, as I was driving the kids to school, we noticed a thin mattress poking out from under some branches.  I'm going to ask Chris to investigate later, and make sure there isn't a stash of clothing and non-perishables in there too. I don't know where this stuff is coming from, but I hope no one plans on doing some long term camping out in our trees. Unless it's Ewoks, Ewoks we can handle.