The Music of My Life – Decade Extra – The 1970’s

Last week I wrapped up my Music of My Life feature. It focused on music from 1970-2025. I admit that it was fun to look back at the tunes that have special meaning to me, bring back a certain memory or a tune that I just really like.

When I got into the 2000’s it became more difficult for me to find songs. With the earlier years, however, I found it difficult to narrow my list down to just ten songs. So I sat down with my original lists and selected some songs that “bubbled under,” so to speak.

I figured a good way to present them was to focus on a decade. 10 years = 1 song per year = 10 songs. Let’s head back to the 70’s and check out a few “Decade Extras.”

1970

I wish I could find the recording of this so I could set it up better. My co-host, Steph, and I were in conversation with our newsman, Hal. Something came up about knocking and Hal says, “Knock three times on the ceiling if you want me.” This led to me asking why we were discussing Tony Orlando on a country station.

Steph walks out of the studio during commercials and I went on the hunt for the song. I found it and cued it up to the chorus. When she comes back to the studio, and she has to read a sponsorship for the weather forecast. I let her begin and out of nowhere I play the chorus of Knock Three Times. She was so thrown by this, she can’t stop laughing. She’s trying to do the sponsorship, but every 6th or 7th word, I’d fire the chorus again. She is down for the count in laughter (which was my intention), so I wound up reading it and apologizing to our listeners.

I think of Steph every time I hear it.

Knock Three Times

1971

I’ve always love the Jonathan Edwards song “Sunshine.” It was always one that I loved singing along with. Had it not been for a mistake, it may never have gotten recorded. According to songfacts.com, he recorded this out of necessity when one of the tracks he put down was accidentally erased. Instead of redoing that song, he did “Sunshine.” Pleased with the results, he and the engineer overdubbed bass and added the drums the next day.

Edwards was signed to Atco Records. They released “Sunshine” as his first single early in 1971, but it flopped. The song got some traction thanks to disc jockeys in New England who started playing it off the album. Six months after the Atco single was released, it was re-issued on the independent Capricorn label with a demo version on the B-side. This time, the song was a hit, shooting to #4 in the US.

He would often end live shows with the song, and Edwards said, “I often say, and it’s true, that if I had never done another song in my life, I’ll be happy to have come and gone with that.”

Sunshine

1972

For the longest time, I thought that Neil Diamond was singing Nice To Be With You. When I started working at my first radio gig, I found out I was wrong.

The song was actually one that had a local connection. Jim Gold formed the group Gallery in Detroit. They recorded quite a few songs, but none were as big as Nice To Be With You. It was also the title track of their debut album.

Nice to Be With You

1973

There was no shortage of Jim Croce songs in my original feature. My mom and dad listened to his music a lot. He was one of many artists who were a part of my childhood.

I love when songs have some basis or inspiration in real life. Bad, Bad Leroy Brown is one of them.

“Leroy Brown is a guy that he actually met,” said his widow Ingrid. “When he was in the service – The National Guard – this guy had gone AWOL. He was a guy that Jim kind of related to, he liked to sing with him. This guy had gone AWOL but he came back to get his paycheck, and he got caught. Jim just thought he was such a funny guy that he thought he’d include his name in the song, and it just worked. There really was a Leroy Brown, and sometimes having a name helps you to build a song around it.”

It’s one of the few songs I can sing at karaoke.

Bad, Bad Leroy Brown

1974

I was a big Beatles fan growing up. As a kid, I didn’t really understand why Paul McCartney was in another group (Wings) or why John Lennon was doing solo stuff. I do remember hearing Band on the Run, though, and liking it.

McCartney recorded the album in Lagos, Nigeria along with his wife Linda and guitarist Denny Laine. The other Wings decided not to make the trip, which worked out fine in the end: McCartney considers the album his best post-Beatles work. He told Word in 2005:

“I was on drums and guitar a lot, mainly because the drummer decided to leave the group the night before and one of the guitar players decided not to come! So we got that solo element into an otherwise ‘produced’ album.”

Band On the Run

1975

It’s a Long Way to the Top is an autobiographical song for AC/DC. It describes their struggles as they tried to make it big. Right from the start, they delivered a top notch live show night after night. Songfacts says: It was genuine: At the time, they were just getting started and playing some seedy venues with even seedier business associates. The hard work eventually paid off, and several years later the band was selling out arenas.

“It’s A Long Way To The Top” really summed us up as a band,” Angus Young told Rolling Stone. “It was the audience that really allowed us to even get near a studio.”

The song is a bit unusual because instead of a lengthy guitar solo it features Angus Young on lead and Bon Scott on the bagpipes in a Dueling Banjos sort of way. I remember the first time I heard the song. “Are those bagpipes?!” Yes. Yes, they are!

It’s a Long Way to the Top

1976

Turn the Page by Bob Seger is also a song about being out on the road and performing. This one focuses on the effects of touring on a performer. There is a lot of loneliness that they feel.

Bob says, “Our first headline shows ever in a large (twelve thousand seat) hall were the two shows at Detroit’s Cobo Arena, September 4th and 5th, 1975. I remember while I was singing this how nice it was to have such good on-stage monitors. I had never heard my voice so well while performing.” The version on Seger’s greatest hits album was taken from these shows.

The song is a classic rock staple here in Michigan. I got to see Bob perform one of his last shows and it was electrifying. I can’t even begin to explain the feel of the room when he performed this one.

Turn the Page

1977

“What’s Your Name” by Lynyrd Skynyrd is another song that is based on a true story. One night while they were on tour, the band was drinking at their hotel bar when one of the roadies got in a fight. They all got kicked out. So they went to a room, ordered champagne and continued the party.

Songfacts says: The incident in this song did not happen in Boise, Idaho. The first line was originally, “It’s 8 o’clock and boys it’s time to go,” but lead singer Ronnie Van Zant changed it when he found out his brother, Donnie, was opening his first national tour with his band .38 Special in Boise. The first line became “It’s 8 o’clock in Boise, Idaho.”

Three days after the album was released, Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gaines died in a plane crash. The cover of the album was redone because the original cover had the band surrounded by flames.

What’s Your Name

1978

Hold the Line by Toto caught my ear the first time I heard it because of the piano open with the guitar riff intermingling with it. It was the debut single for the group who was made up primarily of session musicians.

From songfacts: “Hold the line” is an expression meaning to maintain your existing position, which in this case is the singer telling a girl to be patient and stay with their relationship.

The saying also has a more literal meaning, however, which is how David Paich came up with the title. “Hold the line” is what you tell someone on the phone if you want to put them on hold while you’re taking another call. This is typical in workplaces, but in the days before cell phones, some households (especially ones with teenagers) also had multiple phone lines coming in and could put callers on hold. Paich lived in one such household.

Paich said: “When I was in high school, all of a sudden the phone started ringing off the hook, and I had a situation where I was at the dinner table and I had three girls all call at the same time, so all the lights were flashing. I was kind of juggling girlfriends, and that’s how that came about.”

Toto’s video was a bit ahead of it’s time. MTV hadn’t even gone on the air yet when the song was released.

Hold the Line

1979

Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen is such a fun song to play at weddings and parties, especially after the audience has loosened up. So often I’d come out of a slow song and segue right into the smooth intro of Freddie Mercury. People would raise their hands and sway while singing along. Then, when the tempo changes, the dance floor was insane.

It’s a catchy song that has you singing along, even if you are just hearing it for the first time. In 2011, Queen fans voted the chorus of “Don’t Stop Me Now” as the band’s best ever lyric.

In an Absolute Radio interview, Brian May says, “I thought it was a lot of fun, but I did have an undercurrent feeling of, ‘aren’t we talking about danger here,’ because we were worried about Freddie at this point. That feeling lingers, but it’s become almost the most successful Queen track as regards to what people play in their car or at their weddings. It’s become a massive, massive track and an anthem to people who want to be hedonistic. It was kind of a stroke of genius from Freddie.”

Don’t Stop Me Now

So what do you think? I like this idea. A quick look back at a decade. There are plenty of songs to choose from that did not make the original run of this feature. Join me next week for more!

The Music of My Life – 1971

Welcome back to The Music of My Life, where I feature ten songs from each year of my life. In most cases, the ten songs I choose will be ones I like personally (unless I explain otherwise).

The songs will be selected from Billboard’s Year-end Hot 100 Chart, Acclaimed Music, and will all be released in the featured year. Now, without any further ado, let’s head to 1971.

1971

In January of 1971, Tom Jones had his fifth (and final) Billboard Top 10 Hit with a Paul Anka song that Paul had released a year earlier – She’s a Lady.

Tom and Paul actually sang this as a duet on a 2013 Paul Anka album. Paul changed the lyrics a bit because he felt like it was a bit chauvinistic.

I only knew a few of Tom’s hits until my old radio pal, Rob, introduced me to more of them. I came to appreciate his music a lot after that.

She’s a Lady

Also released in January of 1971 was a cover version that gave new life to a song that remains a wedding reception classic.

Creedence Clearwater Revival never had a number one record, however, Proud Mary made it to number two. Ike and Tina Turner’s version took the song in an entirely new direction and it became one of Tina’s signature songs.

The song starts as a slow groove with Tina talking over Ike singing the lyrics. When the tempo picks up, there’s no stopping it! The horns kick in, the Ikettes join in, and Tina blows the roof of the place!

Proud Mary

I suppose it would be wrong not to include the number one song for the entire year of 1971 on this list, even if the members of the group how recorded it called it a “kid’s song” and a “silly song.” I can see that, especially when the lyric is about a frog named Jeremiah.

Legendary songwriter Hoyt Axton wrote “Joy to the World” and it was a monster hit for Three Dog Night. The song was released in February of 1971, and by April it had sold a million copies. Believe it or not, the first line of the song was supposed to be, “Jeremiah was a prophet,” but no one really cared for that. When Axton played it for the band, two of the three members (Danny Hutton and Cory Wells) didn’t like it. It was Chuck Negron who felt the band needed to do something like this “silly song.” Negron said in an interview that the song “wasn’t even close to our best record, but it might have been one of our most honest.” It is hard to believe that this song was almost never recorded!

Joy To The World

I’ve never claimed to be a huge fan of The Doors, but I do acknowledge that Jim Morrison was a one of a kind talent. His legacy lives on to this day. One of my favorite Doors songs was released in March of 1971. It was the first single from their LA Woman album – Love Her Madly.

The story goes that Doors guitarist Robby Krieger was messing around on a twelve string guitar and while doing so he came up with the music and melody for the song. He turned to real life for the lyrical story. He wrote the lyrics based on his troubles and fights with his then-girlfriend and later-wife Lynn.

The song peaked at number 11 on my first birthday – May 15, 1971.

Love Her Madly

As you listen to this next selection, imagine Elvis Presley singing it. Why? Well, it was supposedly written with him in mind to sing it. Take it a step further and imagine the Grass Roots doing it, because it was pitched to them, too, and they passed on it. Luckily, a new trio got a shot at it and Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds had a top five hit with “Don’t Pull Your Love.”

The story of how they came to the song and their record deal is a cool one. “Joe Frank Carollo would recall how he and his fellow band members Dan Hamilton and Tommy Reynolds were performing a Creedence Clearwater Revival medley to audition for ABC-Dunhill when Steve Barri stopped the trio to play them the demo of “Don’t Pull Your Love” two or three times until the trio themselves could sing it for Barri, who resultantly arranged for Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds to be signed to ABC-Dunhill that same day.”

The song was released in April of 1971.

Don’t Pull Your Love

I would bet that Carole King’s Tapestry album has influenced almost every female singer today. It is considered to be one of the best albums in music and it spent nearly six years on the album charts. Talk about a legendary songwriter, Carole has written over 100 songs that have appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. For my next selection, I’m choosing half of a two-sided hit.

In April of 1971, Carole King released I Feel The Earth Move/It’s Too Late. I Feel The Earth Move is such a great song for so many reasons. Do a search for the song on Google and there are countless quotes about it. For example, Rolling Stone magazine praised King’s voice on this track, saying it “negotiates turns from “raunchy” to “bluesy” to “harsh” to “soothing”, with the last echoing the development of the song’s melody into its chorus.” Cash Box described the song as a “forceful ‘earthquake song'” and considered its pairing with “It’s Too Late” as a single to be “double dynamite.”

I love the song because of the way the piano and the vocal intermingle with each other. There is great syncopation in the way that she delivers the lyrics as well. Her version of the song peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in June of 1971. It remained there for five consecutive weeks.

I Feel The Earth Move

Willie Nelson once sang, “You just can’t play a sad song on the banjo.” The banjo is prominent in my next song which is a tribute to a Canadian city. The lyric even says, The banjo and me, we got a feel for singing.” So what do you do when your band doesn’t have a banjo player?

The Canadian rock band The Stampeders, released Sweet City Woman in May of 1971. According to songfacts.com: “Sweet City Woman is one of the most famous banjo-driven hits in rock history, but the band didn’t have a banjo player. Rich Dodson wrote that lick on guitar and played it on that instrument while they were working it out during live shows. When it came time to record the song, he decided a banjo might give it an interesting texture, so he borrowed one and played it in guitar tuning. It was a propitious choice: The banjo gave the song a back-porch feel that makes it lively and oh-so singable. The woman is a metaphor for the big city, Toronto in particular. The lyric was inspired by the city, where the group had been living for about five years. They’re from Calgary, which isn’t exactly the sticks, but Toronto is much bigger and more metropolitan.“

The song went to Number One in Canada and it was a Top Ten in the States.

Sweet City Woman

In July of 1971, Bill Wither’s released his first hit song – Ain’t No Sunshine. It appears on his debut album Just As I Am. I have written about this one in more detail in the past for Tune Tuesday. You can read about it here:

Tune Tuesday – Ain’t No Sunshine

Ain’t No Sunshine

A tragedy that involved the death of three early rock and rollers inspired the monster hit that was released in October of 1971. It seems that we always refer to plane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper on February 3, 1959 as “The Day the Music Died.” You can thank Don McLean for that.

American Pie was the title track of McLean’s 1971 album. The track on the album clocks in at 8:42. When it was released as a single, the song was split up with Part 1 on the A side (4:11) and Part 2 on the B-side (4:31). This month’s edition of Turntable Talk was about music and Max at the PowerPop blog chose this as his song. You can read about it more here:

May 17 – Turntable Talk 26 : The Single That Was More Like A Home Run

American Pie

My final song from 1971 is one that can mean many things to many people, both now and when it was released. This one is the second “sunny” song on my list – Sunshine by Jonathan Edwards.

Edwards has said that he has received many letters stating what people think the song means, or what it means to them personally. When asked by Songfacts.com what he had in mind when he wrote it, he states that the song “has left me with is the wisdom to not answer the question, because everyone’s interpretation is way more creative and interesting than my original impetus for the song. So you go with it.”

The song was almost not recorded. Fate stepped in, however, when an engineer accidentally erased the master of a track called “Please Find Me” near the end of sessions for the album, and “Sunshine” was recorded to take the place of the erased song.

The song was released in November of 1971 and was a Top 5 record for him. Regarding its success, Edwards stated, “It was just at the time of the Vietnam War and Nixon. It was looking bad out there. That song meant a lot to a lot of people during that time–especially me.”

Sunshine

Thanks for reading and listening! See you in 1972!

Afternoon Delight

Every doctor appointment I go to starts this way:

Doctor: You still working midnights?

Me: Yes

Doctor: Yeah, we gotta get you off those!

Well, she will be happy when I come to the next appointment! I will finally be able to answer “no.”

A week or so ago, our interim manager called to ask if I might be interested in an afternoon position. Naturally, I had questions. She gave me more information and I told her I would have to discuss things with my wife.

Once I brought it up to Sam, she immediately said that I should do it. There were some things that we’d obviously have to adjust, but we could make it work.

For me, it will be a big change. One thing I am certainly looking forward to is actually being able to sleep with my wife next to me. Working opposite shifts has been tough.

Another thing I am looking forward to is having some meals together as a family on a more regular basis. Those family meals are very limited with our current schedules.

I will still be working with patients from time to time, but it will be a lot less than I do now. I will be more of a bridge between days and nights. I will be helping sort charts, assigning patients, and working with day staff.

It will certainly be a big change, and the positives outweigh the negatives. I think it’s going to make a huge difference in my life.

Besides, on a bright note (pun intended), I will see the sun a whole lot more!!

This Looks Like a Job For …

I could have used Bob the Builder or Handy Manny today! I would have settled for Tim the Toolman Taylor! Sam bought a climber/triangle/something or other for the kids and it arrived today. I figured it would be an easy thing to put together, especially since the reviews said so. Then, I opened the box to discover that the only tool I needed was – the allen wrench!

If you are unfamiliar with my thoughts on this God awful tool, you can read the blog I posted about it back in 2018 here:

The Tool I Hate the Most…

Here’s the thing – Andrew is climbing everything. The other day, he had figured out how to climb up the living room windows. Don’t ask! Sam figured this would be a good way for him to climb things. It really is a very cool thing. It has a rock wall/slide that they can climb up and slide down. The triangle is perfect for climbing and then there is a half circle thing that reminds me of something you’d see on a playground.

It didn’t take long for my fingers and thumb to start hurting because of how hard it was to get the screws in. After screwing in about 30 of the 50 screws, my thumb started to blister. Eventually, I ripped the skin off my thumb and needed to throw a bandage on it. My wife ran and got me one – a Cocomelon bandage.

My wife got a kick out of me having to out that silly thing on!

Once the project was finished, the kids really had a blast!

At some point, the rock wall/slide became a table and they had a tea party!

My favorite thing, however, is the fact that they took the half circle piece (seen above on the left) and turned it over. They put a blanket over the slats and rocked in it.

God, do I love these two!!

Yesterday we took a walk around the neighborhood and even played a bit outside. Ella is always excited to see her puppy friends. Melody is one of her favorites. Melody has cancer and her owners are always so nice to us when we see them.

It seems like we’ve been cooped up forever and they were loving being outside. Andrew was excited to see the sun!

This picture was taken just before he got in the red and yellow car. It had rained the day before and of course, it collected some water on the seat. That didn’t stop Andrew from going for a drive. Naturally, I had to get a picture of the results of that drive ….

I’m so glad it is warming up. I’m looking forward to many days outside with them!

A Busy Weekend!

Where did the weekend go?! It was so busy for me that it flew right by!

Friday night, Andrew had his sleep study. He had it done at my lab, so we all drove together to the lab. Ella got to have a sleep over with her cousins. They all slept with the blankets that Sam’s mom (Nana) made for them. In the morning, Aunt Emmy sent us this picture –

What a PERFECT picture. Her cousins love her so much, how awesome to see them holding her hands.

Meanwhile, back at the sleep lab, Andrew was all hooked up and ready for his night. It went MUCH better than we thought. Any time you are dealing with a child under 5, the hook up can be difficult. The fact that I was in there hooking him up probably helped a lot! He never cried once! After he fell asleep, I was able to get the final couple pieces of equipment on and I only had to go in to fix things a couple times. We neglected to get a picture of him while he was still awake, but we snapped one of him sleeping.

He was a champ! We follow up with ENT on Friday.

Saturday, we all took turns napping. It was a long day Friday and Sam and I were both exhausted and Sam had to work Saturday night.

Sunday, I took this kids to a cute little park. It is at an early childhood center. It isn’t a park I can take them to when school is in session, or there are kids there, but on Sundays, no one is there. There was a variety of things for both kids to do and many were toddler specific. It was completely fenced in, so they could run and I didn’t have to worry about them getting away from me.

While some areas were in the sun, there were many shaded areas where they could play and not worry about sunburn. It was fun to run around with them and let them burn off some energy,

He was so happy to be able to run around. We started with shoes on, but they only lasted about 5 minutes!

The slides are always a hit with Ella! She loves them. They even had some smaller ones for Andrew, but he didn’t quite get the concept ….

He always wanted to climb up instead of slide down the slide!

One of my favorite pictures from the day is the one above. By itself, it is a great picture of Ella. However, I love it because she walked over to this step and sat down announcing, “I’m a Queen, Daddy! This is my Queen’s chair!” I wish I had a crown to give her!

After they ran around for an hour or so, we all grabbed something to drink and sat beneath one of the trees in the shade. I knew it was getting close to lunch time, so before we packed up to go home, I tried to get a selfie. It is harder and harder to get pictures with Ella now … but I was lucky to snap this one.

Priceless memories made!

A Perfect Weekend to Celebrate

Saturday I got to spend some time with my wife and celebrate her birthday. I arranged for Nana and Papa to watch the kids so we could have some time together. I am so grateful for them.

I worked Friday night, and when I came home, I went right to bed, so I could catch a few winks before our date day. The time I was asleep was rough for Sam as the kids were a bit crankier than normal. We almost called the whole day off.

Thankfully, all fell into place. We dropped the kids off and went to our favorite steakhouse for lunch. The weather was absolutely perfect, so we asked to eat on the patio. When the greeter walked us out there, I was surprised to see no one else there. We had the whole patio to ourselves for most of the meal!

What a wonderful afternoon! We sat in the sun enjoying conversation and each other. It was so nice to just be together.

Because we got a later start than we had planned (and because showtimes didn’t really line up with our plans), we decided to skip the movies. There were a few things we wanted to do, so we just spent the rest of the time doing them.

We had recently bought a two camera baby monitor from Target. It was a nice one and expensive. We set up the cameras and for whatever reason, one of the two cameras would have trouble connecting. We could see one, then it would go out and we could see the other. It never seemed to be able to show both cameras at the same time. This bothered us because we were on wifi, and no matter where we were, it should connect. There was an app you could download on your phone and you were supposed to be able to check from anywhere. I never really did get that to work. We decided it was best to take it back.

So we walked through Target just looking around and talking. We ended up buying a few things for the kids while we were there. Then we wanted to walk through the Christmas Tree Store. They always have a lot of holiday type stuff. The Red, White and Blue wreath we put on the door for Memorial Day and the 4th of July was looking pretty ragged and faded. We hoped to find something there for the door. We did.

It was getting close to the time we told Sam’s folks we’d be back for the kids, so we jumped back in the car and drove to get them. I held Sam’s hand on the way there and was just so glad to have had a day with her.

When we got the kids loaded up, we started to head home. It was getting close to Andrew’s bedtime. He started to cry a lot in the backseat. Sam crawled over the center console and squeezed between the two car seats and made him a bottle to drink on the way home. She had to be extremely uncomfortable! Once we were home, she had to climb back over the center console to get back in her seat to exit the car. I joked with her that I should have taken video to get her back for posting a video of me trying to hop the fence in our backyard! It was a humorous way to end the night.

Sunday night, Sam had to work. I took the kids out to Sam’s Club to pick up a few things we needed at home. Ella found some beautiful flowers and wanted to get them for mommy. Sam’s loves sunflowers and roses, so it was almost as though she knew exactly which ones to get.

We hoped to get a cake while we were there, but they didn’t have any. On the way home we stopped at the little grocery store around the corner from us. There were three cakes there and Ella picked the one with a sun on it. When I asked the girl at the counter if she could write on it, she asked what it should say, and Ella just spouted off, “It has to say ‘Happy Birthday, Mommy’ on it!” The woman asked Ella what color she wanted it in and she told her it had to be pink.

When we got home, we decided to make mommy a birthday card. I wrote on it and she “colored” in it. I helped both her and Andrew “sign” their names. She was so excited to give it to her this morning.

When Sam got home this morning, we went out to breakfast. This would mark the first time that either one of our children has been in a restaurant to eat! Hard to believe, but it is true. Sam and I prepared for the worst. We expected Ella to be running all over the place and Andrew to just cry through the whole thing. We were surprised at just how well behaved they both were! It was a very nice breakfast.

The restaurant wasn’t too busy when we got there. It was mostly retirees and older couples eating. It was a tad busier when we left. Ella said that she had to say goodbye before we could go. So she stopped in the middle of the aisle and yelled, “Goodbye, friends!” It was priceless. We were getting the kids in the car and the waitress came out to stop me. I thought maybe I paid the wrong bill or something. Nope, she just wanted to give each of the kids a plastic duckie.

Sam needed to head to bed when we got home. She had to work tonight, too. Before she did, she only had one request – a photo with the kids.

This was like the fourth or fifth picture. It’s hard to get Ella to sit still long enough for one now! The first three Andrew was smiling like crazy, but he obviously only had three takes before the smile went away!

What a wonderful weekend to celebrate, Sam! One thing is for sure, I’m gonna be diligent to keep scheduling monthly date days/nights!!

Happy birthday, Sam. I love you now and forever!

Back – But Not 100%

Despite the few blogs I had scheduled to be published, I really only got to jump on here to blog a couple times over the past few weeks because of Covid. So I figured I would fill you in on what’s been happening …

Daddy Daughter Pirate Adventure

Prior to my Covid diagnosis, I was planning on taking Ella to a Daddy/Daughter Pirate adventure. I took the Tuesday off and worked Monday night instead. The Sunday before, I didn’t really feel great. I felt like I was getting a cold. Ella was diagnosed that Friday with a double ear infection. I was worried we wouldn’t be able to go because she was sick.

Monday I felt a bit worse and took a home Covid test. It was negative and I went to work. While at work, I just felt stuffed up. I was coughing a bit, and just achy. I went home and slept. When I woke up, I was still hoping to get to go to the Pirate adventure, however, I just felt like crap. My wife talked me into going to Urgent Care, where they swabbed me and gave me the Covid and Flu diagnosis.

It rained Monday and they called Tuesday to tell me that they had moved the pirate adventure to the next day. It didn’t matter, I wasn’t going to be able to go.

Mother’s Day

I’m glad that I planned ahead this year. So often, I wait until a couple days before to go out and get cards and presents. This year, I ordered Sam something online and had hoped to get her a few other things, but thanks to Covid, I was only able to give her the gift I ordered.

I saw this Facebook and thought it was perfect. It was a framed sign, printed on burlap that said, “My greatest blessings call me Mommy.” Under that I was able to put the kids names and birthdays. It came out better than I thought.

Because we both were in quarantine, we had to place our grocery order online and have it delivered. Because I couldn’t get her a cake, Sam ordered one and we had it after dinner. We were able to spend a little bit of time outside in the sun, hoping the extra vitamin D would help with the Covid.

The Kids

Thank goodness the sun has been out a lot this week. The kids have been loving being outside on the swings, playing in the yard or taking brief walks around the neighborhood.

Nana stopped by with some clothes she got for the kids on day and found Ella some “Princess Dresses.” She puts one on and then takes it off so she can put the other one on. I’m not sure what she was doing when I snapped this picture, but I love it. I can’t wait to be able to dress up for a daddy daughter dance!

Earlier this week, Ella was outside with Sam and heard a bird. She told Sam it was a “Nutpecker!” Sam did a double take and asked her again what kind of bird it was. Again, the answer came back, “Nutpecker!” I’ll just add that to the list of wonderfully funny things my daughter says. Nutpecker = Woodpecker.

Andrew turned 7 months old this week. He’s been crawling all over the place and is doing everything he can to stand up. He will pull himself up with the help of couch cushions, toys, pillows, you name it. He is able to stand for 30 seconds at a time, but then usually falls. It drives us crazy. Case in point:

Ella got a Doc McStuffins doctor kit. It comes with the typical doctor toys – stethoscope, otoscope, fake shot, thermometer, bandage and bag. Take a look at the shot, which is the second from the right in the picture below.

See how it is flat? Ok, good. Andrew was standing up next to me on the floor. I was sitting and he had pulled himself up and was standing. He quickly turned and fell and faceplanted right on the corner of that shot. Almost immediately, under his eye (at the top of his cheek bone) began to bruise. Then it began to swell. There was a huge bump under it. At first I thought he broke his cheek.

With 30 minutes before the Urgent Care closed, Sam ran him up to get checked out. He had a hematoma under his eye. Basically, it was bleeding under the skin. So he got his first shiner.

We were told to call his doc and follow up. The doc stated that she didn’t need to see him, but we should have him looked at by an eye doctor to be sure nothing was wrong on the inside of the eye. So he also had his first visit to the eye doc this week.

The good news is that the eye looks great and he will be fine.

He followed up with the Orthotics folks today about his helmet and they said he is progressing so well that he probably will be able to get the helmet off in a couple weeks. This is fantastic news, since we were planning on him having it on through July.

My Crazy Co-Workers

I was cleared to return to work today. The afternoon tech was off, so when I walked in I was the only one in the building. When I walked into the tech room, I was greeted with a masterpiece created by my co-workers.

They basically went through my Facebook page and found every ridiculous picture of me and created a “Covid Keith” board. It certainly made me laugh. I also realize that I make a lot of silly faces. There is a story behind the Alfalfa picture that I will share another time.

I suppose things are sort of getting back to normal-ish.