All Ting Go

Today, I have two choices. Be miserable. Or, be thankful. Like a cheesy Hallmark card, I am going to try to be thankful. There are thousands of other bloggers out there today writing the same kind of contrived crap, so at least I am in good company.

Iain and I are both really sick. I have no voice and my post-nasal drip is turning into bronchitis. Iain's perpetual runny nose has turned a love shade of chartreuse and he is intermittently whining and tugging on his ears. In a couple of hours, we are going to shoot over to the urgent care and get ahold of some pink bubblegum anitbiotics. In the meantime though, we are enjoying a lovely morning.

On mornings when I don't have to work, I'll cook up some eggs, slice some strawberries (or other seasonal fruit), and we'll sit at the table listening to music and "talking". This was a regular Saturday tradition that Dalton and I began many, many years and 4 houses ago. It's such a simple thing, but it was one of those consistent times when you knew you were going to get to be together. Iain and I make it a point to do it at least once a week. In the new era, I do most of the intelligible talking, but occasionally I am blessed with a two or three word sentence.
And I know that one day, in a couple of years, the balance will shift and I won't be able to get a word in edgewise.

I will always get to pick the music though.

Today's musical selection was Sufjan Stevens, Illinoise. It's a brilliant album that captures both the melacholy and simple pleasures of this life. I have played it quite a bit over the past three months, and Iain really likes it. To be honest, Iain really seems to like most music, the first thing for which I am really grateful. He will sit in his carseat and dance to whatever is on. And, when a song ends that he is particularly fond of he will exclaim, "More, please!" I don't play any kids music, although we certainly sing a lot of "Wheels on the Bus" and "Row Row Row". Iain sings the kids songs, but I've never heard him sing a grown-up song.

Until today.

When Chicago came on, Iain was playing with his cars and trucks, driving them over the couch and the coffee table and the dog. All of the sudden, I heard him saying, "All ting go. All ting go." At first I thought he was just talking to his trucks, but then I realized that he was singing, not talking. And, he was doing it along with the song that was playing.

you came to take us
all things go, all things go
to recreate us
all things grow, all things grow
we had our mindset
all things know, all things know
you had to find it
all things go, all things go

It's funny, because Sufjan Stevens is a secular indie artist. He is a Christian, but not a scary one. If you don't know what I mean by that, then you might be one of them and you should just forget I said that. So, he is a Christian, but he is realistic about faith and the struggles that we deal with. Most of his songs are about life, not religion. I would venture to guess that he is pretty unpopular with the more pious Christians because he gets pretty angry at God at some points. At the same time, there is an underlying current of hope in his songs that I really appreciate.

Apparently, so does Iain. Or at least he likes the tune.

Either way, listening to him bop about the house with his cars and trucks singing, "All ting go, all ting go" makes me really happy.

I am so thankful for many things. For the things I have now - really wonderful friends, Iain's loving and helpful grandparents, a great job, lovely house, etc. For the things I had in the past - my mom and the 30 years of love and friendship and support that she gave me, my husband and the ten years of faith, passion, friendship and partnership that we shared.

Most of all, though, today I am thankful for our son who likes to sing.