I'm in one of those times of life where things are pretty overwhelming. Balancing career, family and volunteer work are always a challenge, but it seems like there are times where the balance is more natural than others.
Maybe it is because our family just moved. Maybe it is because we now have a child in High School and another in Junior High. Or maybe I'm just in a place right now where it doesn't take much to get overwhelmed? Either way, things are extra busy, and I am extra-exhausted at the end of the day.
That has me thinking about why we get overwhelmed. Does it really have anything to do with the things we have going on in our lives? I mean, some people are able to do all kinds of things and do not seem to get out of balance. Others require very little to put their stress level through the roof. For me, it is not consistent. There are times where I'm able to take on all kinds of projects at once, and there are other times where I feel like I'm continually trying to catch my breath. This is one one of those breath-catching times for me.
I wonder whether I'll get on top of it as time passes and I get used to a new routine. Or, will I need to make some adjustments and simplify life again? In either case, I'm ready for some re-balancing soon.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Having a Baby!
Well, no, not us. But someone is having a baby, I'm sure of it! Just thought I'd share a song my wife and I did for MusicalGreetings. There are two things I like about this one:
1) The nasal-sounding signing is intentional, for once;
2) My wife and I did this together. I remember writing it, practicing and recording. It was a lot of fun to just let loose a bit and have a good time. We sent it to a friend who had a baby and used it on the website as a "Congratulations on Your New Baby" type of song.
While it may not win any best-song-of-the-year awards, it is a great memory.
Title: You Had a Baby
Music: Wayne Penrod
Lyrics: Tim Penrod
Vocals: Kathy and Tim Penrod
Copyright (C) 2001. Musical Greetings. All rights reserved.
Lyrics:
Ooh, ooh, ooh, oh oh
You had a baby, Baby
Oh, oh, waah waah waah waah!
Ooh, ooh, ooh, oh oh
Congratulation, Kid!
Goo, goo, goo, waah, waah!
Now is the occasion
Oh, oh, waah waah waah waah!
Ooh, ooh, ooh, oh oh
To celebrate your kid
Come on, and give a toast for
Someone we've got to boast for
There's a new arrival and he's staying for a while
Ooh, ooh, ooh, oh oh
We're happy for your baby
Baby baby, waah waah waah waah!
Ooh, ooh, ooh, oh oh
We're happy for your kid
1) The nasal-sounding signing is intentional, for once;
2) My wife and I did this together. I remember writing it, practicing and recording. It was a lot of fun to just let loose a bit and have a good time. We sent it to a friend who had a baby and used it on the website as a "Congratulations on Your New Baby" type of song.
While it may not win any best-song-of-the-year awards, it is a great memory.
Title: You Had a Baby
Music: Wayne Penrod
Lyrics: Tim Penrod
Vocals: Kathy and Tim Penrod
Copyright (C) 2001. Musical Greetings. All rights reserved.
Lyrics:
Ooh, ooh, ooh, oh oh
You had a baby, Baby
Oh, oh, waah waah waah waah!
Ooh, ooh, ooh, oh oh
Congratulation, Kid!
Goo, goo, goo, waah, waah!
Now is the occasion
Oh, oh, waah waah waah waah!
Ooh, ooh, ooh, oh oh
To celebrate your kid
Come on, and give a toast for
Someone we've got to boast for
There's a new arrival and he's staying for a while
Ooh, ooh, ooh, oh oh
We're happy for your baby
Baby baby, waah waah waah waah!
Ooh, ooh, ooh, oh oh
We're happy for your kid
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Real life musical?
For the most part, I really enjoy musicals (dance sequence in Oklahoma excepted). But one of the common criticism of musicals is they are not realistic. After all, how often do people in regular life burst simultaneously into choreographed song and dance?
I have to admit it would send me for a loop if a basketball team stopped the action in the middle of a game for a fun-filled medley (especially if the referees joined in). But, even my relatively-unadventurous life is not without the occasional strange moment where I feel like I've landed in the middle of a scene from a real life musical, and I'm the only one who doesn't know the lyrics and the dance moves.
Here are a few examples:
1) I was at a chaperone at a youth dance recently, reminiscing about my junior high days and grateful I would never have to relive them again, when suddenly, in the middle of Coldplay's Viva la Vida, the entire room burst simultaneously into a chorus of "Oh oh oooooh oh, oh oh oooooh," while uniformly waiving their arms in the air. I was as amazed at the sudden way in which everyone knew exactly when to stop singing the chant and stop waiving their arms as I was at how it all had started in unison. After that particular section of the song ended, everyone went back to dancing independently as if nothing unusual had happened.
2) I guess that is not all that unusual for a youth dance. I recall a similar phenomenon at dances when I was in high school. It was often to a song like "Rock Lobster". Suddenly everyone was plugging their nose while they sank to the ground in a wavy fashion, singing "down, down, down, down." I never knew when these moments were about to strike, and I guess I missed the choreography practice, because I was often the only one left standing.
3) When I was in college, I went to my soon-to-be-wife's apartment to hang out for a while. Someone was playing music on a radio or CD player, and everyone was enjoying relatively-normal conversation. Then suddenly, Billy Joel's River of Dreams came on and the whole place burst into an instant Broadway production. Roommates came rollerblading in from adjacent rooms, others crawled through the windows and began dancing, and even my soon-to-be-wife instantly came to her feet and joined the dance routine. No one said a word -- there was no "hey, guys, it's River of Dreams, let's dance". I don't know whether her roommate was wearing the roller blades prior to the song coming on or if they were donned instantaneously when the song began, like a firefighter's gear. Likewise, I'm not sure whether dancing college girls climbing through windows happens every day of the week, but the whole experience left me scratching my head. Again, when the song ended, there was no explanation, no discussion. Everyone just went about regular life as if nothing had happened. Another scene from a musical.
4) And finally, the man that is a walking musical waiting to happen -- my dad. People would never guess that the friendly yet reserved ex-school teacher has some serious bound-up dancing energy inside. There are so many examples of my dad bursting into instantaneous song and dance when I was a child, it is difficult to think of just one example. But here you go -- when I was sixteen years old, I normally would rather sleep than do anything else. This was especially true in the mornings. My parents thought it was their duty to make sure I didn't sleep away my adolescence, so they spent a significant amount of time trying to wake me up in the morning (including weekends).
My parents had different styles--my mom would begin with polite prompting "ok, Tim, let's get up...it is a busy day and we have a lot of work to do" (I don't know what "Raising Your Teenager" book she read, but why any parent thinks informing a sleepy teenager that they ought to wake up becausese there is so much work to do is beyond me). The polite prompting would evolve into yelling before long-- "If you don't wake up I'm going to... (fill in your favorite threat)." Sometimes, although I could never figure out the pattern, my father would be assigned to "wake up the teenager" duty. His approach? Instant musical. I'm not sure if he practiced his moves when no one was looking, but he had them down. He would bound into my room at 6 am, singing at the top of his lungs in his silliest voice, while doing a version of the chicken dance on steroids, "It's time to get up, it's time to get up, it's time to get up in the moooorniiiiing." Then a series of chicken dance moves with no words---rotating in a circle, jumping up on a chair and then back again. Then he would stop and look at me for a moment. I would pretend I couldn't hear or see him. And then it was like someone rewinded the tape---it started all over from the beginning..."It's time to get up, it's time to get up, it's time to get up in the mooorniiiing." After a few rounds of it, I had all that a young man could take and would drag myself out of bed. This is just one example--there were the "it's pay day" dances, the "we're going on a family vacation" moves, and the dance and sing while you clean up the house routines. Not sure if it was the intent or not-- but dad and his dancing could get me to change my behavior faster than any other influence.
Am I the only one who experiences these random real life musical moments? I'm certain that I'm not. If you've witnessed any (or participated in any) yourself, feel free to post yourself
I have to admit it would send me for a loop if a basketball team stopped the action in the middle of a game for a fun-filled medley (especially if the referees joined in). But, even my relatively-unadventurous life is not without the occasional strange moment where I feel like I've landed in the middle of a scene from a real life musical, and I'm the only one who doesn't know the lyrics and the dance moves.
Here are a few examples:
1) I was at a chaperone at a youth dance recently, reminiscing about my junior high days and grateful I would never have to relive them again, when suddenly, in the middle of Coldplay's Viva la Vida, the entire room burst simultaneously into a chorus of "Oh oh oooooh oh, oh oh oooooh," while uniformly waiving their arms in the air. I was as amazed at the sudden way in which everyone knew exactly when to stop singing the chant and stop waiving their arms as I was at how it all had started in unison. After that particular section of the song ended, everyone went back to dancing independently as if nothing unusual had happened.
2) I guess that is not all that unusual for a youth dance. I recall a similar phenomenon at dances when I was in high school. It was often to a song like "Rock Lobster". Suddenly everyone was plugging their nose while they sank to the ground in a wavy fashion, singing "down, down, down, down." I never knew when these moments were about to strike, and I guess I missed the choreography practice, because I was often the only one left standing.
3) When I was in college, I went to my soon-to-be-wife's apartment to hang out for a while. Someone was playing music on a radio or CD player, and everyone was enjoying relatively-normal conversation. Then suddenly, Billy Joel's River of Dreams came on and the whole place burst into an instant Broadway production. Roommates came rollerblading in from adjacent rooms, others crawled through the windows and began dancing, and even my soon-to-be-wife instantly came to her feet and joined the dance routine. No one said a word -- there was no "hey, guys, it's River of Dreams, let's dance". I don't know whether her roommate was wearing the roller blades prior to the song coming on or if they were donned instantaneously when the song began, like a firefighter's gear. Likewise, I'm not sure whether dancing college girls climbing through windows happens every day of the week, but the whole experience left me scratching my head. Again, when the song ended, there was no explanation, no discussion. Everyone just went about regular life as if nothing had happened. Another scene from a musical.
4) And finally, the man that is a walking musical waiting to happen -- my dad. People would never guess that the friendly yet reserved ex-school teacher has some serious bound-up dancing energy inside. There are so many examples of my dad bursting into instantaneous song and dance when I was a child, it is difficult to think of just one example. But here you go -- when I was sixteen years old, I normally would rather sleep than do anything else. This was especially true in the mornings. My parents thought it was their duty to make sure I didn't sleep away my adolescence, so they spent a significant amount of time trying to wake me up in the morning (including weekends).
My parents had different styles--my mom would begin with polite prompting "ok, Tim, let's get up...it is a busy day and we have a lot of work to do" (I don't know what "Raising Your Teenager" book she read, but why any parent thinks informing a sleepy teenager that they ought to wake up becausese there is so much work to do is beyond me). The polite prompting would evolve into yelling before long-- "If you don't wake up I'm going to... (fill in your favorite threat)." Sometimes, although I could never figure out the pattern, my father would be assigned to "wake up the teenager" duty. His approach? Instant musical. I'm not sure if he practiced his moves when no one was looking, but he had them down. He would bound into my room at 6 am, singing at the top of his lungs in his silliest voice, while doing a version of the chicken dance on steroids, "It's time to get up, it's time to get up, it's time to get up in the moooorniiiiing." Then a series of chicken dance moves with no words---rotating in a circle, jumping up on a chair and then back again. Then he would stop and look at me for a moment. I would pretend I couldn't hear or see him. And then it was like someone rewinded the tape---it started all over from the beginning..."It's time to get up, it's time to get up, it's time to get up in the mooorniiiing." After a few rounds of it, I had all that a young man could take and would drag myself out of bed. This is just one example--there were the "it's pay day" dances, the "we're going on a family vacation" moves, and the dance and sing while you clean up the house routines. Not sure if it was the intent or not-- but dad and his dancing could get me to change my behavior faster than any other influence.
Am I the only one who experiences these random real life musical moments? I'm certain that I'm not. If you've witnessed any (or participated in any) yourself, feel free to post yourself
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