It's no secret that I love all reality singing shows. Luckily I've pulled Tyler on board and he enjoys watching them now. Last week we even made our list of the order in which we thought XFactor contests would place-now that's a game I can get in to!
There's a contestant on The Voice that has been my favorite partially because of her voice, partially because of her song selections. She sings everything I loved about high school! Her name is Cassadee Pope and I can't wait to someday buy her album. This week I was looking forward to watching her as normal but she sang a song that took me straight back to Highway 169 on April 4th, 2006.
The day before was the day my father had his stroke. I had been at work at the time of that awful phone call, was sent home from work to an empty home and promptly went to stay with my second family, the Killions, as it was too late for me to drive to the hospital in Tulsa. One of the worst parts about that night was that Cathy didn't know what had happened by the time I got there so I had to verbalize what had happened just a couple hours after I found out. There's nothing more awful than saying something painful out loud for the first time.
The next day I went to school as normal and at 1:30 I would have had off season volleyball practice. So I went and told my coach what had happened and asked kindly if I could go ahead and miss practice so I could go to the hospital. He thought I was crazy for showing up and sent me on my way. In school they don't teach you protocol for life events like this. Just a couple days before, the newest Rascal Flatts cd came out. I had purchased it and hadn't listened yet so I popped it in before driving to Tulsa, with the hope that this cd would lift my spirits a little.
Cue waterworks. The very first song on the cd was called "Stand". I had already begun driving to Tulsa and I'm hearing these lyrics that were way too appropriate for that moment in my life. Cause when push comes to shove, you taste what you're made of. Everything about my life had changed in a moment. When Cassadee started singing, I was taken back to that exact time when I first heard this song, just like every time I hear it. Starting from that day, life changed a lot. I can look back now and see how true that song can be if you choose to not let life smother you and keep you down.
I think everyone has songs that take them back to that date, time, and place that something happened. I love these songs, I love it every time, no matter if it was a painful or a beautiful experience. Honestly, even the most painful ones can be the most beautiful ones if you don't let it ruin you.
I want to say it was some time during my freshman year of college, maybe sophomore. My parents, Lydia, James, and I went to the Rascal Flatts concert in Tulsa. You can imagine the moment I had when they started singing Stand with my father sitting just a few seats down from me, alive, Standing every day and not letting the happenings of life ruin him, along with the rest of our family. Each time I hear that song I am taken back to remember just how far we've come.
Every time you get up and get back in the race, one more small piece of you starts to fall into place.
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