Resolution Reversal For The New Year

Well, here we are at the end of another year. A time when most start making those New Year’s resolutions. I myself am often a victim of the Resolution game…only to feel like a failure by mid-February. So this year I am going to try a little resolution reversal. Instead of making a list of things I want to do in 2014, I am going to make a list of what I’m NOT going to do.

I am NOT going to take my health for granted. Several friends and people I care about faced health battles in 2013 that I can’t even begin to imagine. I am starting 2014 healthy, for that I am thankful and I don’t intend to squander it!  

I am NOT going to spend more time with my kids. Not because I don’t want to, but because, frankly, their schedules don’t allow it. They are all at ages where they are busy with their own activities and don’t have a lot of time leftover for, well, me. (They’ve chosen good, healthy activities and are happy, so it’s okay.) So instead of having unreasonable expectations, I will just vow to focus on the quality of time spent with them, rather than on quantity. I can sure make the most of those moments spent in the car, in the kitchen making dinner, and when telling them good night.

I am NOT going to ignore the needs of my neighbors. I am already involved in several community groups, but in the new  year I may focus on helping individuals in need. They are everywhere I look. Some may need food, some may need my time, often I’ll bet, they’ll only need encouragement. I think I might start not doing this one today.

I am NOT going to read more in 2014. Instead, I am going to write more. For the past several years, I have probably averaged reading a book a month. And now I have the makings of a book of my own in my head and this may be the year I get it down on paper (or on a flashdrive as the case may be).

I am NOT going to stop sweating the small stuff, because for me it is the small stuff that can make such a big difference. Issues that some people may deem small…are huge to me. It is just the way it is, so might as well stop fighting myself on it.

I am NOT going to take up a new hobby. The hobby I currently have, Rick Springfield and his music, keeps me plenty busy, and frankly helps keep me sane (okay, so this point may be debatable). Instead, maybe I’ll  focus on enjoying that hobby even more. So all this basically means is that he needs to beef up his Midwest Tour Schedule! J (Rick, I hope you’re reading this.)

By NOT doing the above, I believe I will NOT lose sight of what truly matters in my life; family, community, things that make me, me. I will not lose sight of what makes this The Good Life.

 

People Are The Prize

My daughter’s Fifth Grade teacher sent out an email saying that cups, spoons and hot chocolate were still needed for the class Holiday Party. Within 30 seconds, she got several responses and the needs were all filled right away.

At my other daughter’s school it was evident a few kids, who perhaps relied on school lunch each day for food to eat, may not have the Christmas feast that many of us will enjoy. A discreet plea went out from some concerned parents and students, and families responded by bringing in baskets full of food! Enough so that several families could enjoy a Christmas feast! (And there was lots extra, to help them  get through all of Christmas break.)

Driving my kids to school this morning, I noticed a car pulled over to the side of a busy road. I didn’t see a driver at first, but as we went by I could see the head of an elderly woman peeping over the steering wheel. As I prepared to turn around to see if she needed help, I noticed in my rear view mirror many other cars had already stopped to see what was the matter.

So for as much as I write about The Good Life here and my love for the schools,  the many activities for families, the fact that it seems Rick Springfield is often performing in a six-hour radius and the DIVISION 1 HOCKEY! It always, always comes back to the people.

The people in the Greater Mankato area, that are so generous with their time, talents and often their money. Whether it’s simply sending in a pack of plastic spoons, feeding a family of four, or getting out in the cold to help a stranger, it’s more than “Minnesota Nice.” People here see a need and fill it without thinking of themselves.

People are what truly makes living here, The Good Life.

More Than Just Sound

A few months ago my daughter was listening to her music in the kitchen. She kept playing one song over and over again. It was not a song I’d heard on the radio so I asked her about it. She explained it was this singer named Jake Miller who she found on YouTube and whose songs were “so awesome and Mom, you just have to listen to the words.” And so I did. The song was “A Million Lives” and turns out, I then listened to it over and over again.

I looked him up, which wasn’t hard because, good grief, does this kid know how to use social media. Now I feel compelled to tell you about this young man.

He was 20 at the time, and at the time, young artists/musicians were making headlines for not so great things…urinating in trash cans, twerking on TV for all the world to see…you get the drift. But in the middle of all that is Jake Miller, rapping words of hope and encouragement to teens (well, anyone of any age for that matter) dealing with bullying, peer pressure, suicide notions, losing a loved one.  And he is bringing positivity to their world via a means that they can understand and relate to.

Normally, this type of music would make a headache hip-hop around in my skull. But not this stuff. I listen, I learn a little more about the world my kids are growing up in, and sometimes, like when he sings about just “kickin on the couch” I laugh and have a bit of fun. I’m waaaaay past relating, but my kids do and we can talk about it. I wish his music was on the radio here. It is so unlike most songs played on the radio today, songs that make me frantically try to change the station when the kids are in the car because I don’t want them listening to it.

 Ten months ago, Jake Miller remembers performing in Minneapolis to a crowd of 75 or so people. This past weekend, he performed to a sold-out crowd of nearly a thousand at The Varsity Theater in Minneapolis. Yes, among those in the sold out crowd were my two daughters and I. Before the show we got a chance to talk to Jake…well, I talked, they swooned.

I asked Jake if it was intentional, if he all along planned to send these messages through his music. Did he know it would have such an impact?

Jake Miller responds, “ I have all these followers and fans and I feel like if you have the power to say something to change someone’s life or the power to help someone, then you should do it.” He goes on to say “Music without a message is just sound.”

 By all accounts, Jake is a hard working 21-year old but his fans are hard working as well. Particularly through social media, which Jake credits with much of his young success.

Jake says, “ Yeah, I mean, I started on YouTube and started getting a following there. And that’s just how it all started. Now I try to meet as many fans as possible.  Even though they’ve increased in number I still try to meet as many of them as I can at each show. That connection with the fans has to be there and it always will be. I have a dream and they are making it come true.”

He is now in the midst of a 43-city tour across the country to support the recent release of his first full length CD, “Us Against Them.”

As a mom of four, I told Jake I appreciated his music. He shyly replied “Thank you” and said the greatest compliments he gets are from parents.

I would suggest listening to  "A Millions Lives," "Like Me" is super sweet, and "Steven" will likely make you cry. 

Now, are all of his songs delivering some sort of positive social message to young people? Well, no, some of his songs are just meant to be fun. He is after all a 21-year-old artist. Rapping about what it takes to live The Good Life.