It all started Monday night when I arrived home from the airport. It was a long day of travel in the cold and rain to Durham for a quick trip. While I love Durham, I don’t love traveling on Mondays. To top it off, when I arrived at my car in the parking deck, the tire was flat. By the time I’d addressed the tire and made my way home I was tired, deflated, and just ready for my bed. But then, I opened the door and my two youngest daughters greeted me by screaming welcome home daddy and jumping into my arms. That was unexpected. Usually, I have to go find people when I arrive home from a trip. Maybe my youngest (the six year old) will still greet me with a hug. But the other three girls (9, 12, and 14) are usually pre-occupied. I miss those days when I was still the center of their attention… but I digress. Then, on top of that as I walked upstairs the rest of my family was gathered on the landing to serenade me with All I Want for Christmas… I couldn’t stop beaming. What is my life right now that it feels like a musical?

It didn’t end there. The next day was an onslaught of meetings and school events culminating with London’s tumbling exhibition at halftime of our school’s basketball game. She, along with a classmate organized a group of students to create a tumbling club at school. Then, they came up with a practice schedule, and with some help from a parent volunteer, developed a routine that they perfected for the exhibition. I was so proud of her and I could tell that she felt really good about seeing what she’d planned come to life. The show of course was amazing, and it was made even more special because of the crowd of families in our school community there to cheer them on.

Later, on our way home from the celebration dinner with other families the girls once again broke out into song. This time the girls had a classmate of theirs riding with us, but they insisted on initiating Heather into the fold. There I was, playing DJ to a van full of singing divas. I distinctly remember a moment driving down highway 92, Blessing Offor’s Brighter Days blasting on the radio thinking, this is it. This is one of those soundtrack of my life moments.

I know there’s gonna be some brighter days
I swear that love will find you in your pain
I feel it in me like the beating of life in my veins
I know there’s gonna be some brighter days

When I look back 10, 20, 30, or 40 years from now I may not remember the details of what was happening or where we were going, but I will remember how I felt. Music is what feelings sound like. In a season where the days are long but the years feel short, what could be more soul sustaining than a pick me up song? My Tribe by Offer is currently our family’s theme song, but Brighter Day is my personal testimony. So grateful to have people to share it with.

SDW3