STILL

Friday was 16 years since I took over running L.A. Lyon (check out the  My View From The Stage post for the full story if you haven’t already!) The anniversary got me thinking about how little has changed in those sixteen years.

 I am not talking about technology.  In 1998, I still got my music by buying cds, I had never texted and I don’t think I even had a cell phone.  If I did, it made phone calls, it didn’t tell me who the current quarterback is for the Minnesota Vikings. The way we live our day to day life has changed dramatically, but I was thinking about what I am calling STILL. Not the Lionel Richie song, but as in I AM STILL:

• Struggling with my weight. I got on the scale this weekend and almost fainted.  It isn’t an issue with my dryer, as I been telling myself over the past few weeks, so back to trying to get off 15 pounds, yet again!
  
  
• Not financially secure.  I have had various degrees of this issue over the years.  This year better than last, but not as good as 10 years ago.
  
  
• Working incredibly hard.  I never thought at this age I would still be hauling equipment into clubs, worrying about job security and exploring ways to make myself more marketable.
  
  

It’s easy to look at the negative STILLS.  Probably why those came to mind first.  Yet, when I think of my parents at my age, I know that they could never have kept up with me.  I can’t imagine my mother doing four and half sets in heels, or even my dad loading in the band equipment without a lot of moaning, groaning and pain the next day. At this point in their lives, they were starting to wind down their working lives, not thinking about possibly opening up a business.

So I decided to look at the OTHER STILLS.  As in I AM STILL:

• Moving all my weight around, able to do physical things I would have never imagined and enjoying good health.
  
  
•  Bringing in income, at not one, but two very different jobs, that allow me to have a roof over my head and food for me and my four legged family.
  
  
• Working incredibly hard.  Entertaining people and helping them have a great birthday, a great Halloween, or just a great weekend after a lousy week at work. Learning new things every day and being challenged at a job, while knowing there might be another wonderful opportunity just around the corner.  Creating, be it set lists, my blog or a new home project.
  
  
• Laughing every day! At my life, at the D-Man, at Samantha and Kato, or at something someone says at a gig or at work.
  
  

We all have our STILLS.  At this time of the year, as we approach Thanksgiving, I realized I am pretty thankful for mine.

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