Journey

Corps Memories

Jeanna GLeave a comment

If you were asked what activities you participated in most outside of school as a child, what would you remember first? You’d probably remember what you spent the most time doing, and hopefully that was also what you enjoyed the most. 

In my elementary school years, playing games outside, 4-H, Saturday morning cartoons, and Nintendo occupied my free time.  My adolescent years were saturated with sports, riding my 10-speed around town, and playing for the fife and drum corps. No matter the day, I was active. 

I recently read in my hometown newspaper that the corps I marched with would soon be disbanded because of dwindling recruitment of both participants and volunteers. It’s sad to think that some things come to an end, despite how great they were or how many lives they touched. I can’t count the hours I spent practicing my fife and how to march in formation, or how many hours we spent on parade routes or in musters all over the northeast and beyond. We were a dedicated group, which is impressive for a bunch of tweens. But maybe that is even more impressive for the middle-aged. 

What can you say you do most outside of working hours now? If you’re a dedicated parent, your free time is limited, but finding ‘you time’ is invaluable. Do you carve out time for a hobby? Do you practice your talents? Do you focus on doing something that you love and is worth your while? 

I have often heard people say life gets in the way of doing what they love. 

That is absurd. 

We cannot allow ourselves to fall by the wayside. We need to dig deep and re-engage with our younger versions to find the dedication and motivation it takes to practice doing what makes us happy, and to live life to the fullest! 

Don’t let another great thing come to an end. Get out of your own way, and start living. 

Stay Classic

Jeanna GLeave a comment

Last night I went to music bingo at a local brewery, and the final round was classic rock. I’d say 90% of the songs were from my childhood and adolescence. I stared at my board, slackjawed, and then exclaimed, “I’m classic?!” In other words, I’m old. 

I remember a time my mom was classifying her children’s senses of style; one was athletic, one trendy, and she looked at me, paused, and then labeled me classic. I wasn’t sure what she meant, but I was living in Connecticut at the time, so I was hoping she just meant preppy, and not stale. 

I work for a tech company now, and despite the world’s advances in technology, its failure is the cause of most of my team’s headaches. “Classic” is our go-to word for things going wrong at just the wrong time. Hearing the word classic had always conjured up images of cool things like cars and rock ‘n’ roll, but the word classic was starting to take on a negative connotation, and I didn’t like it. 

Last week I was watching a morning talk show that was highlighting a trending Reel on social media that had copied a scene from a Christmas movie that was made nearly 40 years ago. One of the hosts pointed out that the Reel is popular because that movie is still relevant. That one declaration helped me to restore my mindset; being classic doesn’t mean I’m old, it means I’m popular! *cue applause* So, you see, calling something classic doesn’t mean it’s old, stale, or broken, it means it’s timeless, relevant, and enduring.

As I begin planning for the new year, I resolve to stay classically classic.

The Butterfly Effect of Parenting

Jeanna G3 Comments

You’re pondering life with friends, and someone asks, “If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be?” Does something immediately come to mind? Do you wonder if it has to be just one thing, or do you come up empty? Or, are you so happy with how your life has turned out, that you don’t want to change anything and risk losing what you have today?

Do you think one change of the past could have a huge, life-altering impact? What if you could go back and change things, and your life today would stay the same, but you wouldn’t have the memory of what you changed? Would the absence of the memory alter how you go about your day-to-day, how you feel about yourself, or how you interact with others? 

I like to think I’m special because my middle school-aged daughter still tells me what’s on her mind, about her crushes and dilemmas with friends, and asks my advice. But that got me wondering, how many of her seemingly mundane, inconsequential decisions – that I’m influencing – will actually have a huge impact on where and how she’s living life 30 years from now? Are any of the decisions she’s making today going to be the ones she rues? That’s a lot of responsibility!

As a parent, I know that I have the very serious and scary job of influencing a lot of her decisions, with both my words and actions. I think the hardest part is discerning when to take the wheel, and when to take a back seat. I hope I always have the choice, because I know it’s ultimately up to her to either hear me out or tune me out. All I really know today is that, 30 years from now, if I’m asked what I would change, I don’t want to be wishing I had been a better parent.