celebrate me home

i'm feeling melancholy today. i've found myself having moments of pure joy and extreme sadness. it's the last day of another remarkable year and my brain is racing with the moments, the memories. if every day were a song, today would be "celebrate me home" by kenny loggins. its no "footloose" but it's one of my personal favorites. its ringing in my head today, playing on a loop in the kitchen and has settled into a special place. it has me thinking about ann humphreys. her son jake, is a good friend of your father and i's, her husband, guy, works for hillyard and they are life long friends of the roths. ann was diagnosed with lung cancer at the end of september and passed away last week, two days short of christmas.

ann was one of my favorites, she was the hostess with the mostess. her house was always picture perfect, her smile always warm, her door always open. when she said "come visit" she meant it. she threw one hell of a party and even hosted one for daddy and i when we got married. her funeral was huge, sad and a reminder of how fragile we all are. your dad and i were so bummed out, we went and drank beer and blew our christmas money at the casino afterwards. but just like the circle of life, that day passed, and then the next, and the next. . . and then came last night.

the humphreys family, along with their friends, threw a party at the country club in sweet ann's honor. it was exactly what she would have wanted. we all celebrated her home. there is a really beautiful thing about being a woman, and its the gift of empathy. a woman can instantly identify with an experience, a feeling, a thought of another human being. last night i felt the sadness of a son that no longer has a mother, a husband that lost a wife, people who lost their friend, the world that lost a light and it made my heart sad. but i also felt the joy of her past, the pride for having known her, the respect for the fight, the fun she brought to people's lives and the love that will never die.


"play me one more song, that i'll always remember, i can recall, whenever i find myself too all alone, i can make believe i've never gone, i never know where i belong, sing me home. please, celebrate me home." 

and we did.

she is home now and we will all continue to celebrate her. i will think of her every time i hear that song.

*heavy sigh*

its in these moments of darkness i am most thankful for your daddy and the three of you. despite the sorrow and sad feelings, you always manage to bring joy and lightness into my life. its an unseasonably warm december day, nearly 50. i went for a walk with thing one, thing two and neko dog and caught myself smiling the whole way. i love listening to you talk about your discoveries! today it was a "yucky dead squirrel" and that the murphy's house had a gated entry. we came back home and raced in the front yard, checked out all the dying foliage and drank in the warmth of the sun. before we came inside we kissed 2011 goodbye and hollered "see you next year!" i doubt you can really grasp that, but it was a nice release for me to shout into the sky! goodbye to this year of twists and turns! this year of death and sweet eleanor's birth.

we came inside and i snuggled with that little baby girl. nuzzling her silky cheek with my nose, thinking about how far we have come. thinking about how blessed i am, how i will always try to remember these simple, every day moments. i'm celebrating me home, for the days are long, but the years are short. I will always remember.

"Home for the holidays, 
I believe I've missed each and every face, 
Come on and play my music, 
Let's turn on the love light in the place 

It's time I found myself, 
Totally surrounded in your circles 
Whoa, my friends 

Please, celebrate me home, 
Give me a number, 
Please, celebrate me home 
Play me one more song, 
That I'll always remember, 
And I can recall, 
Whenever I find myself too all alone, 
I can sing me home. 

Uneasy highway, 
Traveling where the Westerly winds can fly, 
Somebody tried to tell me, 
But the men forgot to tell me why, 

I gotta count on being gone, 
Come on woman, come on daddy, 
Be what you want from me, 
I'm this strong, I'll be weak lebrate+me+home_20077720.html ] 
Please, celebrate me home, 
Give me a number, 
Please, celebrate me home 
Play me one more song, 
That I'll always remember, 
I can recall, 
Whenever I find myself too all alone, 
I can make believe I've never gone, 
I never know where I belong, 
Sing me home. 

Please, celebrate me home, 
Give me a number, 
Please, celebrate me home 
Play me one more song, 

Celebrate, celebrate 
Celebrate, celebrate 
Celebrate, celebrate 
Celebrate me home 

Please, celebrate me home, 
Please, celebrate me home, 
Well I'm finally here, 
But I'm bound to roam, 
Come on celebrate me home 
Well I'm finally here, 
But I'm bound to roam, 
Come on celebrate me home 
Well I'm finally here, 
But I'm bound to roam, 
Come on celebrate me home 
Please, celebrate me home, 
Please, celebrate me home, 
Please, celebrate me home, 
Please, celebrate me home, 
Please, celebrate me home, 
Please, celebrate me home"



celebrate me home, kenny loggins