Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens …

When I played the piano regularly – and used to provide accompaniment to singers and choirs – there were a few songs that were on my short list of favorites.  Most of the songs from The Sound of Music were at the top of this list because they were relatively easy to play and the accompaniments were kind of fun, using different variations of the 88 keys.  One of my favorites, of course, was “My Favorite Things”.  “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens … bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens …”  You know the rest.

Tonight, on my mind, are not only a few of “My Favorite Things” but more specifically … “Things that I Greatly Miss” (Dear Rogers and Hammerstein, Please allow me to take a few liberties with your tried and true tune with a dash of creative license!):

1. Cool fall evenings and walking along a path full of vibrant, colorful, dry, crunchy leaves – CA does not even come close to IL/Midwestern autumns
2. Along those same lines, wearing sweaters or sweatshirts for the first time in fall
3. The first snow of winter. I. Miss. Snow.  (yes, I just said that – the November/December variety, anyway)
4. After experiencing said snow, sitting by a forced-air heater to warm up while the rest of the room and outside was bitter cold
5. The sound of the laughter and giggles and the low rumble of talk – both from loud booming voices to low, discrete whispers of my three children (when they were small, of course, although hearing the adult version of their voices still puts a smile on my face)
6. The security I felt when all three of my children were asleep at the same time under the same roof and the feeling of serenity I experienced when I would check on them one final time before going to bed
7. The feeling of life growing, expanding, and moving inside of me when I was pregnant
8. The smells of candles and incense at church during the quite moments before service – I have many fond memories of Masses at St. Francis and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Bakersfield
9. The smell of bright lavender lilacs in the spring
10. Seeing fireflies dart and hover around the horizon at dusk during late spring and summer
11. Feeding baby calves from a bottle
12. The feeling one has the first few moments after mounting a horse and taking the initial first, few steps
13. The comfort I felt to be surrounded by extended family; the security and warmth that would overwhelm with the sense of loving and being loved and cared for
14. The feeling of running ones fingers over the keys of a piano when playing “Fur Elise”
15. Innocence … mine was lost way too soon and I have never recovered
16. Almost anything cooked or baked by my Grandma – kolache, bismarks, hotdogs wrapped in dough … you name it
17. Teaching a small child to sound out a word for the first time and the look on his/her face when he/she realizes that a word was just “read”
18. The sound of Slovak being spoken… from those I loved and who have been long gone
19. The feeling of loving and being loved and not every thinking that it could end – someone would leave – or it could be taken away
20. The sensation you feel when your own small child falls asleep while sitting in your lap
21. The joy of reading anything by Roald Dahl out loud to students
22. Seeing famous awe-inspiring sites for the first time: The view from Sacre Cour in Paris; Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament; swans along the River Thames; the majestic Redwoods; the deep purple Rocky Mountains. The list can go on and on …

Apparently, it is a good thing that my ambitions are not to be a famous lyricist as I would have failed miserably with this rather long, wordy list of “Things that I Greatly Miss”!  While there may not be any “cream colored ponies” or “schnitzel with noodles” on my list, these are all things that I remember dearly and fondly.

Just a Small Town Girl …

Yesterday, while driving to work, two different songs came on the radio that resonated with me: Small Town by John Mellencamp and Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey.  “Well I was born in a small town …” and “Just a small town girl – Livin’ in a lonely world” resonated with me.  Both of those lines are me … however … when I looked onto the horizon I saw one of my favorite views of my commute on the 134 East (aka Ventura Freeway/Highway – now another song can be running through your head!) – the Colorado Street Bridge and ravine.  Something old – a bridge built in the early 1900’s – with something new – miles and lanes of cars sporting the latest in chrome and steel.  In my rearview mirror, I saw the LA skyline – somewhat in a haze due to some nice city-living smog. At that moment, I had a bit of a “world’s collide” moment as I realized that as much as I felt like that “small town girl” that Steve Perry crooned about, I am definitely not in her zip code anymore!

Growing up in Small Town, USA (Gardner, IL – at time, population 1400), my concept of “city” was Chicago.  As I had many relatives who lived there, I was not a stranger to riding The El or  walking along State Street – especially at Christmas time.  I always enjoyed my visits; I have fond memories of The Brookfield Zoo and watching the Cubs play.  However, after each visit and well before the sunset, we always got back into the car and headed back to the farm.  Interestingly enough, I never really dreamed of living in a city while I was a child.  I always had small town aspirations.  I thought my life would be in common with John Mellencamp’s musings – “I would live and die in a small town.”  And then fate stepped in!  When I graduated college, I could not find a teaching job in a small town or a big city in Illinois so I ventured West, landing in my first taste of “city living” in Bakersfield.  I experienced, for the first time, living in close proximity to a neighbor – mere feet between us instead of miles.  On the upside, I learned many conveniences came with city living that included supermarkets instead of grocery stores … stores open 24 hours or until very late in the evening …more restaurants serving foods of all types of creations and concoctions … City life does bring easy access to almost everything under the sun!  There is a price for this convenience; however, that comes in the form of traffic, pollution, and crowding.

While living in a city, I still found times and places that definitely felt “small town”.  Working in small school districts, living in older neighborhoods, forming bonds with friends and coworkers – just to name a few.  After a while, Bakersfield actually started to feel like a small town – perhaps because of these aforementioned reasons. And then fate stepped in once again and  I decided to make the move to LA.

I am approaching two years in living in the LA area.  Our moving truck pulled in mid December 2013, and here we still are (minus one move from one part of the city to another).  When I was that “small town girl”, I never in a million years would have imagined myself living and working in LA.  From what I had seen on TV growing up, there did not seem to be anything but freeways, concrete, and pollution (which yes, there is some of all of that!).  In high school, I remember I had a classmate who had dreamed of going to LA and she and her mother actually vacationed over here during one of our breaks.  As she retold her stories about her mom driving in LA and the people’s reaction, I remember being slightly horrified – although I never said out loud – and wondered who would choose to live there?!  Well, 30 years later, I have the answer – ME!

I must admit – I love LA! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtDhtadoeUk – yes … yes … now that song is running through your head!) My own children think I am crazy for the move here!  I am minutes away from Hollywood and there are several evenings that we have had dinner or gone to an event somewhere near Hollywood and Vine and we walked along the stars, each time discovering someone’s star that we didn’t remember seeing before. We have walked along beaches many times, sampling the food and shopping in Venice or Santa Monica.  Speaking of shopping – why yes … there is plenty of that to be had here as well.  Currently, we are four blocks away from the Galleria and the Americana.

Yes, there are times I still feel like a “small town girl” … maybe I always will because small town living was all I knew growing up.  I just am not looking for any midnight trains going anywhere from city life anytime soon!

Venice Beach – Photo credit goes to Thomas G. Robinson

LA Skyline from Mulholland Drive – Photo Credit: Thomas G. Robinson