Home and Family, Uncategorized

One Call Away

I’d heard the song several times over the previous month, but it didn’t really strike me until a few weeks ago.  The Friday before Teo joined Sienna at their elementary school’s summer program on August 1st, I heard the song while driving home and the melody grabbed me. After dinner, while playing on the floor in Teo’s room, I decided to figure out who sang the song.  A quick Google search brought me to this video.

One Call Away is by a young singer/songwriter named Charlie Puth.  I LOVE this song! The lyrics of the chorus are:

I’m only one call away

I’ll be there to save the day

Superman got nothing on me

I’m only one call away

Teo and I watched the video together and proceeded to hear the song a few more times on the radio over the weekend.

The first day of summer ESS was harder for Teo than I anticipated.  He was embarrassed when his field trip t-shirt was misplaced at the swimming pool and he had to collect it in front of the group.  When I picked the kids up that afternoon, he reported “I don’t like it here. It’s scary!”

Although he did dread going back and cried at drop off for the next few days, my heart was warmed when he told me: “They played your Superman song on the bus today.  It made me think of you and feel better.”

032

We’ve continued to search for One Call Away on the radio on a daily basis and added Charlie Puth to our Pandora station too.  This past Tuesday was Teo’s first day of kindergarten and the past few weeks have been full of growth and change for him.  This song has become an anthem for us to share.  I love that it references Superman, since Teo loves superheroes!  Also, the message that mommy is here to save the day touches my heart each time we sing it together.

This afternoon, while cleaning house and doing our regular Sunday prep for the week, One Call Away finally come on Pandora.  Teo and I shot into the living room and sang along.  He stood on the couch so we were eye-to-eye with one another.  Toward the end of the song, there’s a (I have no idea what you’d call this!) raising scale on the word “one”.  Teo has been working to hold longer notes while singing – More Than a Feeling by Boston is his typical practice song – so I knew what he was thinking when the scale started.  We locked eyes and did our best to belt out the notes.  In our living room with it’s gigantic ceiling, we had some good acoustics too. 🙂

Looking at Teo’s sweet face and mischievous little smirk as he sang these notes, my heart jumped into my throat.  I realized that this song would forever remind me of my son and the transition he made from preschool to kindergarten.  I cuddled him in a big hug and breathed in my little boy.  I cherish being here to make him feel safe, secure, and loved while he ventures out into the big world.

As I started to write this post at the patio table this evening, I played the video for inspiration.  Teo was in the living room watching a movie with Sienna and heard the song through the screen of the sliding glass door.  He ran to the door and started to open it.

“Do you want to come hear our song?” I asked.

“Yes!” he said, between bites of his fudge pop.

And we did.

Home and Family, Uncategorized

Saying Goodbye

We recently made our “annual” trip to Northern California to visit family and friends. It was a fun, relaxing time of connection with our loved ones, those who are closest to our hearts but physically far away from our home in San Diego.

On a Wednesday morning, Dennis, the kids, and me met my mom at the nursing home where my Nana has been living the past couple of years. I got to see Nana this past April, shortly after the first surgery to fix her broken hip.  She was in pain and disoriented from the medication and anesthesia.  But, she was talkative and engaged.  My mom and I giggled a couple times, as Nana gave us her version of stories that didn’t seem altogether plausible.  (Nana could always make me laugh harder than anyone.  She had this dry delivery and often wasn’t trying to be funny, which made her even funnier!)

041
Nana and me – October, 2014

 

When we entered her room in July, just 6 days after her 96th birthday, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say we were shocked.  She looked so small and frail, much worse than when I saw her in April.  Those weeks and months of pain had taken such a toll on her body.  My mom gently encouraged Nana to open her eyes and see that we were there to visit.  Her face perked up at the mention of Sienna and Mateo, no doubt because my mom often speaks happily about them.  We all giggled when Nana looked at Dennis and said, “Well you’re a good looking man.”

We stood around her bed, holding her hands – nearly closed from arthritis – and asking how she was doing. Watching my sweet husband lovingly stroke Nana’s hair away from her forehead was precious and made my heart swell.  Sienna and Teo were a bit intimidated.  Teo kept gazing at me, with his lower lip sticking out and saying, “It’s so sad.”

After a while, we could see that Nana needed to rest, her eyes kept closing during our visit. My words caught in my mouth as we said “We’ll see you next time we’re here to visit,” knowing quite well it was an empty promise.  As I started to take her hand to say goodbye, Nana looked at me with complete recognition in her eyes and said, clearly and somewhat defiantly, “I know you’re Kelsey.”   Tears slipped down my cheeks and I could hear my mom start to cry too. It was the most perfect, precious moment and I’ll always cherish it.

Nana died in the early hours of the morning today. She was surrounded by her children, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, and one of her several great-grandchildren as her final hours passed.  Nana was 96 years old.  She was immensely blessed with family to love and that loved her deeply in return.  What a beautiful end to a beautiful life.