Christmas Phone Call

     I was driving home from a performance in downtown LA. It was Christmas Eve and traffic was brutal. Instead of letting the situation get me down I tuned into a radio station that was playing Christmas music. As I sang my heart out the red brake lights became Christmas lights and I revelled in the holiday spirit. I had my Bluetooth in my ear, anticipating a phone call from my then girlfriend. As the current song came to an end I realized my Bluetooth was connected to a call. I embarrassedly asked, "Hello?" On the other end was Mom. She said, "I'm just calling to wish you Merry Christmas."
     "How long have you been listening?" I asked.
     "I heard most of the last song."
     "Why didn't you say anything?"
     "I was just enjoying listening." 

I Feel Fine Enough, I Guess...

Me with Ed Robertson, lead singer of Barenaked Ladies

     Last weekend was both extremely fun and extremely emotional. I got to see two of my favorite bands, Rascal Flatts and Barenaked Ladies, in concert. Sunday was also what would have been Mom's 83rd birthday. All things considered, I couldn't have asked for a more appropriate series of events to occur Saturday and Sunday.
     A little lot of back story for everyone: My mom passed away last April 1st. I was at a show choir competition, minutes from going on stage with Esperanza High School's show choir, when I got the news. Thankfully I was playing that set with two of my best friends in the show choir musician's circle, Danny and Stephen. A few weeks before, Danny and I had discussed how one of our favorite moments in the show was playing the verses of "Life Is A Highway", a song made popular by Rascal Flatts. After I told Danny and Stephen what happened, they gave their condolences then Danny said something along the lines of, "Let's go rock this!" We hit the stage and, fighting back tears, tore into the set. As soon as we hit the first verse of "Life Is A Highway" Danny shot me a huge grin which put a smile on my face. We were in the groove. It was then that I realized the first line of that verse is, "Life's like a road that you travel on, it's one day here and the next day gone." At that moment I chose "Life Is A Highway" to be the song I will forever associate with Mom. She'd rather have that than some sappy song, I'm sure. After the performance Stephen hung out with me for at least an hour and we just talked. I will always be thankful to Danny and Stephen for that day.
     The next day I had another performance with Esperanza's group at another show choir festival. Again Danny and I had our musical moment during "Life Is A Highway." After the set the groups director, Michael Fenton, came up to me, explained that he told the students about Mom, and that the performance was dedicated to her. If there had been any question about "Life Is A Highway" being Mom's song, that answered it.
     One day, while listening to "Pinch Me" by the Barenaked Ladies, I was struck by the line, "I feel fine enough I guess, considering everything's a mess." That summed up perfectly how I had been feeling since April 1. This past summer I had the pleasure of seeing Barenaked Ladies in San Diego with two of my good friends, Ken and Lisa. Lisa's father had passed away less than a year before Mom did so she and I had spent a lot of time talking and crying about our losses. When that line came up in "Pinch Me", we looked at each other with a knowing look while singing the line. Another memory I will carry with me forever.
     Fast forward to last weekend. My friends Ken, Christina, Heather, and I secured our tickets for the Barenaked Ladies show the week before. At the time I didn't realize the concert fell on Mom's birthday. Our original plan for Saturday was to go check out Route 66 in San Bernardino. A Beatles tribute band was playing and it sounded like fun. Saturday morning I got a text message from Heather that said, "Rascal Flatts is playing tonight. Call me!" After a few phone calls our plans were upgraded from tribute band to Rascal Flatts. I don't know if any of them realized it at the time, but, getting the see Rascal Flatts sing "Life Is A Highway" with my friends was an incredible moment for me. Sunday was the Barenaked Ladies concert with the same group of friends. Again they performed "Pinch Me" and again I realized I am "...fine enough I guess, considering everything's a mess." After the concert Heather and I hung out backstage and got a chance to meet the band. While posing for a picture with lead singer Ed Robertson I told him about how I associated a line from "Pinch Me" with Mom and that it was her birthday. He gave me a slight squeeze on my shoulder and a smile.
     Good friends, Rascal Flatts, Barenaked Ladies, and Mom's birthday: What an incredible weekend!