Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Twisted Mix-Tape Tuesday - Our Love Story - to Music

Well, it has begun.  Phoenix started high school today.  While I am very sad for me, seeing my baby head off into the world of "really big, old kids", I am beyond excited for him.  He is going to a great school with lots of good friends with so many opportunities to learn and have fun. 

Wearing shorts we spent three hours at the mall searching for, he left dark and early.  (Poor kid is in a carpool with two girls who like to get to school reeeeaaaly early.)  After school, he texted me to say he had a good day, but, "Did you know shorts aren't part of the dress code?"

Right.  I like a good prank like anyone else, but sending my baby to his first day of high school in something NOT dress code appropriate is not something I would do.  I'm going to assume he has gotten my sarcastic gene, which I can be proud of, and wasn't really asking that question.

Guess I'll be heading out to not find pants that fit him.  Did you know there aren't many stores which sell size 28x33?  Especially when you limit them to the color khaki. 

Anyway, I am a little more nervous than other moms might be about my boy heading to high school.  It was during my freshman year that I met COW.  The thoughts of him meeting his future wife already...I just can't go there.

But I have been doing some reminiscing.  Perfect timing for me to try a new blog hop.  COW and I love music (though neither of us can play an instrument or sing on key.  COW can barely keep a beat, and his dancing is atrocious), and it has been a big part of our life together.

Ms. Jen Kehl has a Tuesday Mix-Tape hop each week, and the theme this week is "Duets".  While COW and I have been known to belt out the tunes in perfect disharmony, we've never been recorded.  I won't be able to share with you our tear-inducing duets.  I will, though, be able to tell you the story of our life through the music of respected duets.  And for a couple of these, I'm using the word "respected" a bit loosely. 

1.  When COW and I first began dating, I thought he was rich.  He didn't waste his time recording songs off the radio.  No, sir, if he liked a song, he went out and bought the tape.  (I later found out he wasn't rich at all, seeing as he still used a hand-me-down 8-track, too.)  The first one we ever listened to was DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince.  No joke.  We loved them, and sang every word to those songs.  I can still sing them without missing a beat.  Our favorite:

 
 
2.  Over our high school years, we went to LOTS of dances.  Besides the usual homecomings and proms, we had Turnabout ,(the one where the girl asks the boy.) and sock hops after every single football game.  We spent many, many nights getting sweaty dancing to that fantastic 80s music.  One song which got the place rocking every single time was "Walk this Way", sung by Run-DMC and Aerosmith.
 
Enjoy.
 
 
3.  OK, this one is going to leave you scratching your head.  I said I was using the word "respected" very loosely.  COW and I both performed in the variety shows our school put on each spring, although never the same one.  The year I participated, we did a theme song bit, and I was cast as Laverne, from "Laverne and Shirley".  From then on, whenever I felt the need to embarrass COW in public, I would go into my Laverne high knee/low snap moves.  Worked every time.
 
 
4.  And then we graduated.  Being that we were mature before our time, we decided to attend different universities.  I didn't even apply to the school which he attended.  We had been together for more than two years by then, and came to the conclusion we didn't want to stay together out of habit.  We tested our relationship by throwing ourselves into the pit of bad behavior and temptation individually, hoping for the best.  We managed to stay together, missing each other terribly and talking on the phone every night.  During my freshman year, he made a tape for me (Yup, a song from a mix-tape in a mix-tape post.  Beat that!)  full of songs which made him think of me.  (Such a romantic, no?)  Of course, when you think of romance, don't you immediately think of Sonny and Cher?  I do.  Ever since that tape came in the mail.
 
 
 
5.  Time went on.  We got hitched.  We took lots of road trips.  We were pros at traveling with little to no money.  Our favorite vacations were ones in which we would get in the car and simply drive a certain direction.  We took only back roads, stopped whenever we felt like it, and discovered all sorts of fun places.  Since radio reception was spotty out there in the middle of nowhere, we listened to lots of CDs.  One of our favorites was Kenny Rogers.  And the song we really sang with gusto, alternating our parts like pros, was the song he did with Kim Carnes.  As the song went on, the gusto got bigger and bigger.  We were made to sing that song.
 
 
And then we had kids and our music turned more towards Raffi-type songs.  Since COW gets to ride in a car all alone a lot more often than I do, his radio channels are set to more modern, adult stations.  (Really, I have no idea who he is anymore.  Seems he's in a mid-life crisis.  One day, he found himself driving downtown with the windows open, rapping some inappropriate Eminem song.  It finally did dawn on him that a client may happen to see him and rolled the windows back up.)  I am still in the Land of Make-Believe, listening to Kid's Place Live all day. 
 
It's OK.  Our day will come.  Someday.  When the house is empty, (you know, when we're 70) you may see us out on the road, proclaiming our undying love for each other at the top of our voices.
 
 
Phoenix is in high school.  He very well may meet his future wife any day now.
 
You know he's going to let us choose the music for the wedding.
 
Thanks, Jen, for giving me the motivation to put this together.  I had a lot of fun doing it!
 
Jen Kehl
 
Have a lovely day!
 

40 comments:

  1. WOW what a love story!!!! Anybody who can rock out to Walk This Way and then morph into Laverne and Shirley deserves high praise. Kudos to a great couple with obvious staying power.

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  2. How fun to put your love story to music! What does COW say to the music choices?

    BTW did he get in trouble for the shorts? Try old navy for the pants we seem to have the best luck when we were a 28 / 32 now we cannot find a 33/34, or a size 0 that actually stays up on the princess.

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    1. He was sitting here the whole time, wondering why I kept asking him, "Does this song remind you of me?" :)

      He did not. Case of the newbie freshman being clueless free day.

      Old navy was a bust. We hear American Eagle is a good place to try, so off we shall go.

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  3. Aww what a sweet story, and what a fun idea!! Love it!

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  4. Loved the story and loved your choices (I almost included the Peabo Bryson/Roberta Flack song as well).

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  5. I would pay good money to see you do the Laverne dance.

    And you have just freaked me out with the "Phoenix may well meet his future wife" thang.

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    1. How much? :)

      Welcome to the freak club. (That is the name I should have put in the email!!)

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    2. Whatever you were offering your kids to quit soccer. That was Monopoly money, wasn't it?

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    3. 'freak club'? Hey! I resent that!

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    4. Ah, now, don't be upset. You have to admit, we're a bit of an odd group...

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  6. Absolutely gorgeous way of telling your story and getting some brilliant music in there.

    But ya absolutely gotta stop listening to Kids Place Live so much!

    (I'm with Dyanne on the paying to see you do the Laverne dance...)

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    1. Thanks!

      Ack! I know. But I kinda like it myself. And I can't channel hop when I'm driving. It makes me crazy when COW does it.

      Pool thy money, Ladies!

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    2. Hehehe now the truth comes out!

      Surely y'all must have the ability to preset different channels on the radio? If you can text whilst at a standstill, I have every confidence that you could press a new button.

      Or is it 'can't' as in 'ornery and plain don't want to'?

      We will begin saving. What's your price (and I'll see if it can't be haggled down some)

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    3. Yes, I can press a new button...I just hate flipping around into the middle of songs. I want to just stay on one channel and hear full songs, not bits and pieces of them.

      :)

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  7. This is delightful and then some. I love this.

    Have a terrific day. ☺

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  8. LOVE LOVE LOVE this one! Love your story and love your choices! I almost put Walk This Way on my list but I changed my mind at the last minute. New follower here and so excited to be here! :)

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    1. Thank you! I'm glad you liked it, and glad you decided to come back later! :)

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  9. This list is awesome! How did I forget Don't Fall in Love With a Dreamer? I love that song! It is so great that you came to play and I love the story of you and your husband :-) You guys are awesome. Also, so loved the Fresh Prince, so no worries! Please come back again next week! I know it's not all warm and fuzzy, but their are so many songs just written for that theme!

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    1. Thanks! It is a fabulous song! This was a lot of fun, so I will certainly be linking up again.

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  10. What a trip down musical memory lane! Congrats on the longevity with your husband.

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  11. OK, you *sorta* made my brain hurt with your use of the phrase "sock hop" alongside a Run DMC video, but otherwise I loved the way you wove the music through the tale =)

    Oh, and the Fresh Prince/Jazzy Jeff selection was choice!

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    1. I know. I hate using that word. I promise we didn't all wear poodle skirts. The administrators were just wanting to protect the gym floor and made us take our shoes off.

      Thank you!

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  12. This was fun! Thanks for the walk down memory lane. If you guys met in high school, survived being separated during college, then you were meant to be!

    I can't believe your kids started school so soon!

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    1. I can't believe they are back already, either. The public schools are all going to the year-round calendar, and we seem to be headed in that direction, too.

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  13. No he cannot meet his future bride today. I mean, he can meet her but not meet her. You are not old enough for that. But I love that you are old enough to remember Run DMC & Aerosmith's duet and the best ever was Laverne and Shirley!

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    1. He may meet her, but he most certainly won't be dating her! Oh, I'm old enough, alright. Love that song! Laverne and Shirley are awesome, clearly.

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  14. Wow, it seems really early to be starting school. I think I said that before but still. Today? Yikes. Also, is the no-shorts rule real??? You met COW in high school? Freshman year? Eeep that is so adorable (and I'm sure Phoenix will have MANY more years before he meets his future wife!). I love that you have the Laverne and Shirley show opening on your list. Love it. And I kind of miss those old road-trip days. Fun times. Also, if it makes you feel better, we won't have a kidless home until we're like 70, either, likely ;)

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    1. I know. It is early. Year-round calendar seems to be heading our way.
      I'm very unhappy about the no shorts rule. I have since found out the rule was put in place because too many girls were wearing shorts that were too short. Got rid of the problem in one little rule.

      We did meet when I was a freshman. We were on the swim team together. Although, we didn't date until the following year, as he (as a sophomore) refused to date a freshman. :)

      Laverne and Shirley were awesome.

      Road trips are so much fun when done right.

      I wonder if they will start building nursing homes with suites, so children still living at home can come with.

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  15. How could I have missed the 'Walk this Way' duet??! oh, I remember! I'm terribly old.... lol I have the Aerosmith version in my head, though how can you not like this crossover-ish duet.

    "...by throwing ourselves into the pit of bad behavior and temptation". You have my undivided attention.

    like the Sonny & Cher... it is one of those songs that is old enough (from our current perspective) that the clark who heard it when it was new is now a semi-distant relative.

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    1. How can you not!? It is a fabulous duet/duo/whatever the heck Jen would call it.

      I knew I would...

      I have a fuzzy memory of watching them on TV. 'Cause I'm old.

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  16. Why can't we see a video of YOU TWO singing those songs? That would be the real entertainment, my friend...

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    1. It would be too painful. And the kids would refuse to record it. They aren't fans of their parents embarrassing them.

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  17. Love the story, and the Roberta Flack/Peabo Bryson duet brought back many memories - I bought the record for my hubby and we played it on our wedding day. The Sonny & Cher is one of the many I sing along to when I'm on the road on my camping trips.

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    1. Oh, I'm glad it got you reminiscing, too.

      Do you sing with the windows down and at the top of your lungs? :) With a dog accompaniment?

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  18. Love, love, love that Laverne & Shirley is on here!!! :)

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Thank you for taking the time to tell me what you're thinking!