Cosmic Love- Florence + The Machine
I Have Loved You Wrong- The Swell Season
So… my Birthday is a few days away, and every year, my Mom wakes me up (no matter where I am) with The Beatles’ Birthday Song. It seemed fitting that I make this the song of the week.
Enjoy.
Birthday- The Beatles
I love Glee, and I love this song. This past Tuesday would have been my Dad’s Birthday, and everything is still so fresh, yet ever so surreal. I’m in a very strange place mentally/emotionally. Just waking up everyday, and trying to “keep on keeping on” if you will.
Anyway… I’ve always loved this song, and I really like the Glee version. Enjoy.
Smile- Glee Cast
Winter Song- Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson
When I was a little girl, the highlight of every week (hands down) was Sunday mornings. I would help my Dad pile the trash and recycling into his truck, and I would climb into the truck, pick out a cassette, and we would listen to some of his favorite country tunes when we cruised to the town dump. Very simple, but I loved it. That was MY quality time alone with my Dad, just the two of us, and we did that every Sunday. One of my Dad’s favorite singers was Randy Travis, and my Dad always loved it when I sang along. As a little girl, this was one of my favorite songs to sing along to with my Dad on our way to and from the town dump.
Deeper Than The Holler-Randy Travis
For Dad.
After fighting hard, and seemingly winning his battle, my Dad passed away last night. I got the call last night that my Father passed away. It seems as though, after fighting for so long, his heart just couldn’t take it anymore. I am now in New Hampshire to start the process of saying goodbye to my Dad, and figuring out where life goes from here without him.
My Dad had an amazing way of annoying me like no one else could, but also loving me like no one else could. He was an honest man who would do anything for those he loved. He also had no problem telling you exactly what was on his mind.
My Dad taught me so many important things like how to change my own tire, check the oil in my car, and how to put up one hell of a fight. He still loved me when I chose to go to college for something that wasn’t likely to pay my bills. He still loved me despite the fact that I have never been anywhere close to perfect. And he still loved me when we disagreed on political issues. He always made me call him when I got home so he knew I was safe.
Where do we go from here? How do you begin to say goodbye to someone you can’t imagine living without? How do I get past my ager towards the woman who crossed that damn yellow line and hit him head-on? Did he know exactly how much I love him?
I am left with far more questions than answers…
Rest in peace, Daddy. I love you so very much. As you would say (and David has become fond of quoting), “Drive safe, and call us when you get home.”
Roger E. Marcouillier. December 1, 1955- November 17, 2009
I’m sorry that I was unable to post a song last week. There has been so much going on between my Dad’s accident, work, and moving into my first apartment. I’ve been feeling overwhelmed and under energized. I’ve just been feeling like I have very little to give over the past week or so. I’m still dragging a bit, but things are picking up a bit. My Dad is doing better, healing faster than doctors expected, and seemingly on the mend.
ANYWAY… I thought I’d post a song that feeds my soul a bit. Ray LaMontagne’s music just speaks to me. I know that sounds cheesy, but ’tis true. Enjoy.
You Are The Best Thing- Ray LaMontagne
I just need to throw this out to the universe to cover my bases. I’m at the airport right now, waiting to board a plane to New Hampshire. I’m pretty exhausted, and I’ve switched over into numb mode. Probably just too tired to be in any other state.
My Dad was in a head-on collision yesterday in New Hampshire. He is in very rough shape. Two collapsed lungs, broken femur, seven broken ribs, and so on. I need to be there.
If you pray, or send positive vibes… whatever you believe in, I would really appreciate it if you could send all of that good stuff my Dad’s way. He’s going to have a long road ahead of him. It will be extremely appreciated.
Many, many thanks.
This info was taken from History.com. This website (The History Chanel) has lots of fun and interesting facts about the origins of Halloween. Certainly worth a look!
Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.
During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.
By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.
The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of “bobbing” for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.
By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints’ Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints’, All Saints’, and All Souls’, were called Hallowmas.
