Just Dance

I broke into tears this morning at work when a song came on the radio.  "One Sweet Day", by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men.  I haven't heard it in God knows how long but the emotion it brought to me was unstoppable.  In 1996 my best friend in the entire worlds' older sister was killed by a drunk driver. To this day it is one of the more traumatizing things I have ever had to go through.  She was an older sister to me.  Or the closest thing I had to it.  I have an older brother, who don't get me wrong is one of the more amazing men in my life, but what little girl doesn't want an older sister to look up to and steal her clothes from? (you're welcome Frankie :) )  Sara treated me like an older sister.  Amy, my best friend and I, used to steal her car when we were in 8th grade and drive it around the block, drive by boys' houses we had a crush on, wherever.  As long as it was within a 1 mile radius, we drove by it.  Every time we would turn the corner to go back to Amy's house Sara would ALWAYS be sitting on the curb pissed off, yelling and screaming, telling us she was going to beat us, tell Sheila (Amy's mom) on us, everything.  She did not hold back with me either.  She picked on me, made fun of me, laughed with me, cried with me, all of that.  Well when she died there was a single cassette in the tape deck of her car that we found.  "One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men.  It reminds me of her every single time I hear it.  It is one of those songs that gets into your soul and makes you just feel it and want to sing so loud at the top of your lungs and cry your brains out you can't help it.  There aren't many songs like that.  Everyone has their pick.  That just happens to be one of mine.  And it came on the radio at the most perfect time.  

Last weekend Amy's grandma died and I found out her Grandpa is sick as well.  Again, I grew up with them.  Amy's family is part of my family (whether or not we talk all the time or see each other every day, her family is one that will always be close and dear to my heart forever and ever and always).   Well most people when they grieve, are happy, sad, depressed, excited, anxious, whatever it may be have some sort of faith they go to to tell them everything is going to be alright.  Whether you believe in God, Buddah, the little red Kabbalah bracelet everyone wears to be trendy, the clouds in the sky, whatever, everyone has that one thing they turn to.  Mine happens to be music.  I decided music is my faith.  When I was in high school my mom, instead of grounding me, would take my stereo away for weeks at a time.  I didn't watch much TV or play on the computer all that much because I was always in my room listening to music.  I can't function without music.  It has been there through the best of best of times and the worst most miserable times I've had to go through.  And I didn't officially realize it until 3 days ago.  Lori, my sister-in-law/true sister/friend from freakin ages ago, her mother past away on Thursday.  She has been going through chemo to treat breast cancer but nothing was terribly wrong.  Well on Thursday I got ready to go down to meet some old friends, left my house and stopped by Coffee Bean for a quick chat with my sister.  In the midst of the chat my sister tells me how Lori's mom is in the hospital, she's not doing well, etc.  I didn't know what to say.  My first reaction to everything is to look at the good in the situation.  What good can come out of what Frankie just told me, I have no idea but I tried to stay positive.  We had our chat, tripped out about what was going on and went about our business.  Now stay with me because it's going to get complicated.  Back in January I went through a break-up that for about 10 minutes in my brain I thought it was the end of the world.  Only 10 minutes though.  When I really realized what a piece of shit the guy was I became the happiest person in the world.  Anywho, back in January I turned to music.  As I always do.  It's a way for me to escape.  Well...there's a song by Lady GaGa called "Just Dance" that was popular, catchy, blah blah blah.  I heard it a few times and didn't even like it, but when I started going through all of my emotions and 808's and heartbreaks, I fell in love with it.  Solely for the lyrics.  "JUST DANCE!! IT'LL BE OK!  DA-DA-DOO-DOO. JUST DANCE!!" It's the most amazing get through life with a smile song in the world.  I swore by it.  In my lowest of lows I would put it on, sing at the top of my lungs and just cry my brains out.  So back to this past Thursday when Frankie and I congregated at Coffee Bean.  I got in my car, turned on the radio, and no joke the first song on was "Just Dance" by Lady GaGa.  TRIP OUT.  Now the majority of you may be thinking to yourself "big deal.  it's a popular song, came out only  8 months ago, blah blah blah".  But really, out of all the lame lame lame Lady GaGa songs on the radio right now when's the last time you heard that one??  So I took it as a sign.  My Music God was telling me once again that everything was going to be alright.  Just Dance!!!!  Take a deep breath cause you're gonna get through it, Chels.  That's what I heard.  (i'm not crazy, i swear.).  I then called my sister to tell her what had happened because I was so tripped out, we both just had a moment.  Well now an even longer story short, Frankie's life anthem is "Wind Beneath my Wings" by Bette Midler.  No one ever hears that song on the radio unless you tune into Love Songs on the KOST every night at 11 pm.  Of course Lori, her family, my brother and all have been through a ton in the last 48 hours so we congregated at their house last night to have dinner, play a little RockBand and just shoot the shit.  Take our minds off of everything.  Well we're eating dinner and Frankie started telling us how she was so tripped out because she got in her car and the first song she heard was "Wind Beneath my Wings" by Bette Midler.  And I teared up in my brain.  The feeling I got inside my body was so surreal I had no words.  Sounds funny because it's just a lame song that comes on the radio every 10 years, but when you put the whole story together, it's kind of neat.  And when I heard "One Sweet Day" this morning I was assured that everything would be OK.  No matter what happens in life, everything will be OK.

JUST DANCE.

Ciao!!