I was dragging a little on Tuesday morning, I will not lie. I didn’t sleep very well the night before. I had some anxiety dreams and was doing my share of tossing and turning.
I don’t know if anyone else is having anxiety dreams these days, but I do have them from time to time. What I find funny about them is that they tend to be pretty mundane.
Stressful, yes, but the kind of stressful that’s like, I’m putting together a puzzle and just can’t find that last edge piece. One might think that struggling through a global pandemic, my dreams might be more ghoulish or creative, but I guess the creative part of my subconscious is tired too. Is nightmare block a thing?
Anyway, the morning was fairly uninspired. I muddled through some work and a meeting with my board of directors. The meeting went surprisingly well and I was feeling pretty good about that, but my energy dropped by lunchtime.
Amelia was over at Grandma’s house, and I took a little break to go and pick her up. While driving home, she asked if she could listen to some music from the Peanuts movie soundtrack.
The first song that came up was “Good To Be Alive” by Meghan Trainor. If you’re not familiar with the song, I will say that it is in the genre of songs that is hard to feel down while listening to.
I could feel my mood start to edge up oh so slightly. And then the chorus came. From the backseat, I heard the sweet voice of my daughter start to quietly sing along. I jumped in, too.
“Oooooh, oooo, oooooh…OOOOOH, Ooooh, Ooooo, ooo-OOOHHH. Oh it feels so good to be alive!”
By the next chorus, Amelia and I were both smiling ear to ear, belting it out. I know there are no shortage of movies with cornball scenes of people singing along with upbeat songs in the car, and I have often made fun of those movies. But I’m here to say that in real life, that is some awesome sauce and I felt my spirit fly very high in that moment.
Part of it was the positive, catching song. I know it sounds cliche, and it’s a hard sentiment to hold onto when the world is so scary and confusing, but it IS good to alive. And for me, sharing that moment with my daughter was something special. Thinking about it a day and a half later, it still brings a grin to my face.
So I guess the lessons are, 1.) Listen to upbeat, positive music sometimes, and 2.) Grab hold of those little moments and appreciate them, because they can really transform your point of view.
It was back to work when I got back home, and I had a much better afternoon. When I wrapped up, I set up the inflatable pool and, as Henry calls it, “The Sprinkle-ator” and let the kids have some fun in the water.
And also in the dirt! My kids love dirt.
Rocky start, but good day. I’ll take it. It is so good to be alive.
