Read this article over the weekend & it struck a chord with me. Actually it made me cry. Because yes, I have gotten that phone call that blindsided me. I love what this writer had to say & thought I'd share.
And yes... I'm old enough to have Prince on vinyl. And I received a new turn table a few years ago, so I can even still play these old albums if I want.
Dance party, anyone? LOL
It’s the news that blindsided you on a random Thursday.
Prince is dead.
99% of us had never met Prince, but almost everyone has heard a Prince song. For a lot of people my age, his songs were the soundtrack to our youth. Dancing at our friend’s house, singing in the car together, listening to his cassettes in your room (and turning the volume down when it got to the really dirty songs). There’s something else tied to those beats, those lyrics. The announcement of his death prompted a visceral reaction in so many people.
I was at work when I got the news that Prince died. As I drove home, I listened to Purple Rain, and my heart was heavy. Then “Let’s Go Crazy” started, and I sat there haunted by the opening of the song:
Dearly beloved
We are gathered here today
To get through this thing called life
Electric word life
It means forever and that’s a mighty long time
But I’m here to tell you
There’s something else
The after world
A world of never ending happiness
You can always see the sun, day or night
And later on that day I saw the lyrics staring up at me from my phone, and that’s when it really hit me. Let’s not just get through this thing called life, but let’s celebrate it today. Enjoy this life. Right now. You are not promised tomorrow. And you don’t know if the one you love is promised tomorrow, either.
I still remember going to a funeral of someone who was in their 90s. When I told one of the family members how sorry I was, he responded, “Thank you, but you know what…she got her money’s worth.” I’ve loved that phrase ever since when it comes to describing someone who lived a long, full life.
Did Prince do that? I don’t know, 57 seems awfully young to me, but when you look at his life – 39 albums in 38 years, 100 million albums sold, 32 Grammy nominations and 7 wins, and a spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (in the first year he was eligible) – he packed an awful lot into those 57 years. You could argue that he DID get his money’s worth.
There’s something else tied to Prince’s death. In the back of my mind, I know that someday we are all going to get a phone call on some random day that blindsides us even more. Or maybe you already have.
We’re trying to get through this thing called life, but sometimes we’re caught up in the minute: the to-dos, the grocery list, chores around the house, homework, and the glorification of being busy. That’s why the news of Prince’s death hurt so badly. It wasn’t on our calendar yesterday, and events like that never will be. We will never be ready.
I think a lot about that random phone call that I will get someday. Have I said everything I need to say to the people I need to say it to? Have I gotten my money’s worth in the time I’ve spent with them?
Maybe not yet. But I hope they know that I love them, and that I have our greatest moments memorized, like the words to my favorite Prince songs.
Ok then. More Monday Madness coming up with class #3 for the day... ZUMBA at 5:30.
And yes, there will be a Prince song... :-)
