The power of music

The power of music
Those who have met me would probably describe me as a no-nonsence, get-it-done, realistic person. All of that is true, but if you peel back those layers you'll find that I'm really just a giant mush ball who is quite sensitive. I just don't allow the time to dwell and absorb. But music- those lyrics can just cut right though to the heart of the matter. Of course, it's not just the lyrics- its never the same just to read the words, but combined with the music makes a very powerful combination.

I love music. I was surrounded by music when I was growing up, and do so whenever I am alone- sewing or driving mostly. Even still, those opportunities don't come up very often!


I must have really been living in a cave, because I hadn't heard the Rascal Flats song "I Won't Let Go" Immediately I fell in love with the song, as I do any song that can make me cry. That's what its all about, isn't it? To have that person or people in our life who can hold you up in your darkest moments- who will be there to do what needs to be done when you can't, and clean up the mess (and tears). I've heard it many times now, and it still makes me choke up.

Then, I heard this one not too long ago- I was in the car with one of my girls, and I caught some of the lyrics, and quickly changed the station. I knew it was one of "those" songs. Sanctus Real - “Lead Me”
I came home and googled the lyrics, and I went weak. There they were- the begging of my heart for the past several years all written out. I locked myself alone and sobbed for a good half hour. Music is so powerful.

I saved off the lyrics and the youtube video of another song. I sent an email to myself, and titled it "for another time, another place" a year ago. Every now and then, I read off the lyrics and watch the video. It's so powerful to me that I cant allow myself to dwell on it- the story of where I wish were, where I thought I would be, and the reminder of where I am not, but the slow process of healing and the question of daring to hope: Faith to be Strong_ by Andrew Peterson.

The power of music to reach an emotional level that we aren't always willing to reach on our own- what speaks to us, tugs at our hearts, and makes us remember a time, place, or feeling. Very powerful stuff.

Now, back to my pragmatic self :)

Time to garden

The last 4 weeks have been a mad dash around here as we prepare hundreds of plants for our spring Master Gardener Plant Sale. It is one of the big events that the children look forward to every year. As well they should, the two oldest make hundreds of dollars each! Well earned, as they work hard from the beginning of Feb through April to prepare their selections from start to finish, and then interact with all of their customers closing each sell.

This year is our biggest yet. We have over 500 plants, and there really are more to do, but I'm not sure that we'll get past this many.

It's hard to keep this clan indoors for any length of time this time of year! Normally, the bulk of our homeschooling is done in winter and summer, but our winter was so mild that we only had about a week of inside-all-day type weather. That means we aren't taking as much time off in the spring as we normally do. Still, lessons are a bit shorter, and I don't mind dropping a few things so that we can spend as much time outside as possible.

We've built new permaculture beds. And by "we", I mean them, not me.

We were hoping the barn would be finished by now, but there was a 2 month delay on the doors, so that's still on the unfinished list. The well is another unfinished item, although we're still plugging away at trying to get that resolved. They will be putting new casing and screening and substrate in very soon. If that doesn't fix it, we'll be drilling a brand new hole.

We are enjoying the fruits of our garden to it's fullest! We have meals several times per week when we realize everything we're eating came straight from our farm. We're rich, indeed.