More Little Things...

       As we head out of the weekend, and into the bambini's final week of summer, I'd like to reflect on some rememberances that surfaced over the last few days...

       Autumn has discovered Alphaville.  The group from Berlin, Germany, who had the hit single 'Forever Young' back in 1984.  It was a song that Kim loved, and that we slow danced to.  It held a special place in our hearts.  I won't go as far as to say it was 'our song' - you know, when you know someone for 33 years - one song just does not cut it.  We had many 'our songs'.  Forever Young will forever capture who we were back in the 80's, back when we really did not have a care in the world, except when we'd both be off of work and free to be together again.
      How Autumn came across Alphalville, is, that Cody found a remix of Forever Young by Jay Z.  I commented that it was a decent cover and her curiosity was piqued.  I dusted off the original CD, downloaded it for her, and she was hooked.  She loved the passion with which the songs are sung.  She loved the harmonizing...and then, I began to point out the lyrics, and how a lot of the songs reminded me of her Mama...
       A Victory of Love, was one of our favorites:
         

Hello
Is this heaven calling
Hello, hello, is somebody there, she must be somewhere
And then she says hello, hello, hello
She's really an angel
She stands in the sunshine
She's closing her eyes, she starting to dream
 

      I always told Kim, that, she was really an angel...for so many reasons, that I think I have clearly explained over the last 100 blogs or so.
     And then there was Sounds Like a Melody;
She's so soft and warm in my arms
I tune it into the scene
My hands are resting on her shoulders
When we're dancing away for a while
Oh we're moving, we're falling,
We step into the fire
By the hour of the wolf in a midnight dream
There's no reason to hurry
Just start that brand new story
Set it alight, we're head over heels in love,
Head over heels...

The ringing of your laughter
It sounds like a melody
To once forbidden places
We'll go for a while

It's the definite show
Our shadows resting in the moonlight
It's so clear and bright in your eyes
It's the touch of your sighs

    The song Fallen Angel had a lot of meaning to us...as did, of course, Forever Young.

Lets dance in style, lets dance for a while.
Heaven can wait were only watching the skies.
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst.
Are you gonna drop the bomb or not?

Let us die young or let us live forever.
We dont have the power but we never say never.
Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip.
The music's for the sad men.

Can you imagine when this race is won.
Turn our golden faces into the sun.
Praising our leaders were getting in tune.
The musics played by the madmen.

Forever young, I want to be forever young.
Do you really want to live forever? forever and ever.

Forever young, I want to be forever young.
Do you really want to live forever? for ever young.

Some are like water, some are like the heat.
Some are a melody and some are the beat.
Sooner or later they all will be gone.
Why dont they stay young?

Its so hard to get old without a cause.
I dont want to perish like a fading horse.
Youth is like diamonds in the sun.
And diamonds are forever.

So many adventures couldnt happen today.
So many songs we forgot to play.
So many dreams are swinging out of the blue.
We let them come true.

Forever young, I want to be forever young.
Do you really want to live forever? forever and ever.

Forever young, I want to be forever young.
Do you really want to live forever? forever and ever.

Forever young, I want to be forever young.
Do you really want to live forever? forever.

     

        Back in the day, we did think we'd live forever. And we had so much to live for.  We always believed we would just be together, forever and that when it was our time to go, we'd go together.  Kim would get pretty intense whenever I had to fly somewhere for a meeting...I'd try to ask her questions, to see what was bothering her, and she once told me 'I'm afraid that something will happen to you.  That you'll leave without me.'.  She never wanted to fly separately, in case of plane crash.  She just wanted to be sure that we went together.  Kim would pack my suitcases full of talimans and good luck charms to bring me back safely.  She would even go so far as to give me one of her favorite earrings and tell me 'see, now you have to come back so that I can wear this pair of earrings again.'.  I don't know if it is exactly irony when I think of how things have actually turned out.  I just always thought it would go the way Kim said - she had such conviction and confidence that there could really be no other way.  Well, she did tell me, in such an apologetic way, that 'this isn't what we had planned', before she left...

      So, as I ran the bambini ragged over the weekend, it was to growing requests for different Alphaville songs...and each child had their questions as the songs wound down:  'Did you ever dance to this one?'...'Was this one of your favorites?'...'Do you remember the first time you and Mama heard this one?'...'What were you doing/where were you when you listened to this song?'...'What part of this song reminds you of Mama?'...it was a little more than I could bear...but what choice do I have?  So, I did my best to enjoy the music and remember...sweet Kimmy...

                  Another weekend happening...Mass at San Xavier...these two will not leave my side and seem to really enjoy going to the mission.  I introduced them to several regulars that I have seen at Mass each week that I go over the last 7 months...We bought candles..."It's my turn to light my candle in the church!", Antonio said.  "OK, I'll light mine next to Mama's picture in Mary's chapel", Autumn replied.  The young man who does such a nice job keeping the chapel clean was just finishing up...he gave us a hearty greeting and asked how we were today.  "Good", the little ones told him. "We're lighting candle for our Mama", Tonio explained.  And, while I thanked him for keeping Kimmy's photo dusted for me, Aut and Tonio set about selecting the perfect location for their candles, lit them, and said a prayer...

                 The kids were thankful for the man who helped keep the Mission clean, and took care of Mama's picture.  They wanted to walk up the mountain today, and we did so under some growing cloud cover, as our monsoon is in full swing.  Kim loved this time of year for the smells, the dramatic storms, and how everything grew with the quenching rains.  We passed closely by the still damp creosete bushes and they smelled incredible.

The large, white cross on the top of this mountain is obscured by clouds...

                   It was a good morning to be at Viro's, as we met Janene, Brad and their family, Autumn's teacher, Casey and her husband, Jack and Tammy, who works at Cottonwood, and her children.  We literally ate and talked for two hours...!  I was able to lament to Vito, Vito Jr and one of the employees, Nick, about Fabio Cannavaro retiring.  He was the captain of Italia's 2006 World Cup team and a long time star for Juventus in the Italian Serie A (USA equivalent of NFL), my favorite team. 
                   Kim and I had watched the championship match of the '06 World Cup at Viro's.  Vito brought in a large screen t.v., had Nike shirts emblazoned with the Italian soccer team's insignia on the front and Viro's logo on the back, which he handed out to all of us.  We got pretty loud and it was a great time!
                   This morning, I just remembered how much Kim looked forward to going to Viro's after church.  Visiting with Rosa and Vito and eating and relaxing.  Now, it is nice to go there to meet up with friends and family.  I've told you how good the food is, but, also, when you walk through their door...it just feels like you are home...
                   We ate well, and then I took the bambini over to visit Angie and to see how her bionic knee was healing.  She's getting around very well with her walker and was in great spirits (no surprised there!).  We brought her some cannolis to help along the healing process!
                
                  Tomorrow is Tonio's birthday...the big 8.  And it will be a particularly challenging one for him...he told me several times this weekend, that he just wants to see Mama in person.  Today, he said 'My birthday is on a Monday this year.  Isn't that the day Mama died?'  And: "It will be on a different day next year?  Good."  We let him open a gift tonight, as is our tradition. Cody gave him a big City Lego set!  He quickly got to work building that, despite it being 10:00 p.m. and having had a looonnnngggg day running...
                I keep telling him he's got to get to bed, so that his birthday can start...we went out to say goodnight and Tonio blew so many kissed skyward, I nearly had to go back inside...the bambini loved the cool temps tonight, but were sad they could not see the Big Dipper...and now, Cody and Autumn are helping me decorate for Antonio's big day...

                   Love,
                        Dave