Are you still here? I hope so.
I’ve been away again. I can’t tell you how many times I sat down in the last few weeks and willed my brain to type a post. Blank screen. Every time.
Unbloggable events continue to unfold in my life. But I think I’m slowly emerging from this funk. Even if I could legally write about the truth, some of it is too frightening (for me) – and could quite possibly be boring (for you).
But this blog isn’t a diary. I’m not asking for sympathy or advice. Even so, I’d like to thank my regular readers and friends who have kindly checked in on me in the last few weeks. Gosh I’ve missed being here.
Okay, so let’s get on with this magnificent crazy show.
So, what does a girl do when it all gets too much? She goes a bit rock n’roll, that’s what.
Enter: Mumford and Sons.
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Awesome doesn’t begin to describe how good it felt to be in that frenetic crowd last week, listening to my new favourite band in the world. U2 will always be my first love, but have you seen the talent on that Marcus Mumford? He’s dripping in it.
Mumford and Sons have been the soundtrack to my soul searching this year. Their lyrics are stand-alone poems. Add in their rolling rhythms and I’m slayed. Belting out their choruses is the closest thing I get to feeling some release in my life right now. I’ve been roaring.
Things got even more rock n’ roll when the spontaneous Mr G suggested we overnight as a family at a hotel near the concert venue so I didn’t have to do the long drive home on my own. Forget Bono, I married an absolute star. The kids loved it and predictably trashed the room. (For toddler-proofing a hotel room, see tips in this post). It was fabulous!
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These kinds of experiences are few and far between for this 40 year old mother of two young kids. So I savoured it. I enjoyed its freshness. Like a teenager.
After the concert I stayed up late talking to a dear friend of mine who was staying at the same hotel. Even if the hardest beverage consumed was tea and for half the time there was an almost 2 year old asleep on my lap, I felt youthful again.
Last week on Q&A, Billy Bragg said “you can experience a download, but you cannot download an experience”. He was talking about the power of live music. He went on to say he’s never read a tweet or status update that made him cry (and I respectfully tweeted him to inform him I knew some bloggers who could make him cry… given half the chance, I’d be up for that challenge!) Nevertheless, Billy is another of my rock heroes and I take his point. Live music will never die out because of its power to move the human heart.
My heart was moved, rotated, inverted and airborne last week. Listening to soul music live in the flesh was potent. It pulled my feet out of the sludge and reframed my view of the world. It made me want to write better and live better.
Never underestimate the power of a woman high on music. Suddenly all seems possible again.
