Music From My Childhood

One thing that I remember doing a lot as a child is listening to music. We had some great church music in particular that taught me some lessons I’ve never forgotten, mostly because it was in such a fun way. A couple cassettes that stick out from early childhood are “I’m a Mormon” by Janeen Brady and “My Turn on Earth” by Lex de Azevedo and Carol Lynn Pearson. The “I’m a Mormon” song that I remember the most is about tithing. “Got a dime in my pocket, I can feel when I walk it kind of rolls and bounces around. I’ve been working for the man next door and now I’m going to town.” There was an appropriate one for us about Grandma and Grandpa on a mission, though I can’t remember any lyrics of that one offhand.

Even more than the “I’m a Mormon” tape, though, I loved “My Turn on Earth.” I think I had about every lyric of the whole tape memorized. The one from that tape that comes back to me the most is “Opposition.” “You can never know the good if you’ve never known the bad. You can never be happy if you’ve never been sad. You’ve got to taste the bitter so you can know the sweet. You’ve got to be hungry to be glad that you can eat.” The lyrics from this album are so great, with really good messages and lessons, and the music is catchy and fun. I was thinking about it yesterday and decided to check itunes. Sure enough they had it, so I splurged a little and downloaded it. I figure my children shouldn’t be deprived of these songs since they influenced me so much.

This morning I was listening to the songs and for the most part could sing right along with all the words even though I haven’t heard it for years. I got to one song that I didn’t remember well, but I’m sure has influenced me because it is an idea I have always liked. I’ll type the lyrics in a minute. It ties in well with some things I’ve been thinking about after the book I just finished reading, which we discussed at book club this week. It was “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch. He is a professor who is dying of pancreatic cancer. He gave a “last lecture” at his university, Carnegie Mellon, which was recorded and put on youtube. It became amazingly popular and he wrote a book putting together a lot of his stories and ideas. Basically his main point was about fulfilling childhood dreams. He has managed to fulfill almost all of his and talked about some lessons in life that he has learned, things he wants to pass onto his children since they are so young and he won’t be able to teach them in person. I also have been reading “Three Cups of Tea” about a man who builds schools in Pakistan for girls.

These two books have had me thinking about what I have wanted to accomplish in life and what some of my dreams were growing up. Some people, like these authors, seem to have these “big” lives where they accomplish so much and achieve great things, and then it can feel like my life is kind of “small” by comparison. I know that being a wife and mother is an important job and that my life has a lot of value, but I also compare what my life is now to the expectations I had. My big plan was to become a doctor and travel the world doing humanitarian service using my medical skills. I also wanted to be a wife and mother and those things have taken top priority and I love them, but I sometimes feel like I’m no closer to achieving any of my other big goals than I ever was. There are so many things I want to do in life, but time is limited, not to mention energy and money!

These are some of the thoughts swirling around in my head lately. Although it was very fortunate that Randy Pausch was able to achieve his dreams, it is kind of sad to think of all the people that don’t get that chance, so this song was especially nice to hear today and I really like the message. It’s called “Forever” from the “My Turn on Earth” album.

Some dreams must wait. Life isn’t long enough.

Some dreams must wait to come true.

Sometimes it seems life just begins and then all of a sudden it’s through.

There’s songs you won’t sing, there’s stories that you won’t ever hear.

Pages you’ll never turn, words that you’ll never know, things that you never will learn.

Some dreams must wait life isn’t long enough.

Some dreams must wait to come true.

It’s nice to know there’s all eternity for everything you’d like to do.

There aren’t any clocks. There aren’t any things like calendars.

No such thing as too late, just always and evermore,

That’s why I think it’s so great

That Heavenly Father and Mother figured it all out so clever.

There’s never enough time and that is why I’m glad we go on forever.

We go on forever.

Some dreams must wait, life isn’t long enough.

Some dreams must wait to come true.

Sometimes it seems life just begins and then all of a sudden it’s through.

There’s songs you won’t sing, there’s stories that you won’t ever hear.

Pages you’ll never turn, words that you’ll never know, things that you never will learn

Of course in my life I should do everything I can to accomplish my goals and use the time I have wisely, but it is comforting to know that we have eternity ahead of us.

~ by Kathy on July 24, 2008.