Dreams are a Powerful Thing

 

Last night at the King Family Christmas party, our friend Wendy got up and told the story of her childhood Christmases in Australia. Her father ran a general store that was open 365 days a year, even half a day on Christmas. On Christmas, she and her brothers would watch Christmas shows on TV, and wait for their father to get home from the store. Their father believed in each person getting only one gift, so they'd wait all day to open their one gift, and that was Christmas. She asked her father, "Why can't we have a Christmas like they have on TV and the movies?" and her father said, "That stuff is only on TV. It isn’t real." But Wendy never stopped dreaming about those sparkly Christmases she saw every year on TV.

When she grew up, Wendy came to California on vacation, where she met and fell in love with a lovely man - and because of him, she would never leave California. They were married twenty years ago, and had a family. Little did she know when she met him that this man was part of the King Family- the family known for their annual Christmas specials. Troy and I have been part of the King Family’s annual holiday party and Christmas Show for 15 years, and let me tell you- nobody does Christmas like the King Family. Wendy’s Christmases now are far beyond the ones she saw in the movies. Every year, Christmas is sparkling and full of song and family and joy. I love Wendy’s story because it is such a strong testament to the power of dreams. 

Sing-a-long at the King Family Christmas party.

Christmas has always been a special time of year for me. After all, I’m born in December and named after a Christmas plant. But beyond that, it is a time of hope. It’s a time when my family always pulled it together to be our best selves, no matter what else was happening in our lives.

My childhood was not so bright and merry. Domestic violence, a dad in prison, and being shuffled around to relatives made me long for a normal, stable life. I would count the days every week until the Partridge Family show came on TV. I was riveted to the screen. Like Wendy watching her Christmas shows, I watched the Partridge Family and not only wanted to be like them, I wanted to BE them. And my favorite Christmas album? ---------->

Many years later, I married a musician, raised some musical kids, and now we record Christmas songs together every year. This is my Christmas/Partridge family dream-come-true. Our Christmas Family album is our gift to you, (download for free and share with friends, if you like) in the hopes that it inspires you to never think a dream is too big, or that you can’t have it, or that it doesn’t exist. Remember Wendy’s story, and be inspired.

Our wish for you this holiday season in that you hold on to your dreams.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays from our family to yours…
(Listen to our Family Affair Holiday Album while you peruse the internet by clicking below, or feel free to download the whole album for free.) 

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Too Old to Dream?

The girl I used to be...

Are we ever too old to dream?

Last night, Troy and I went with our friends Carnie and Rob to see Kenny Loggins in concert. After all these years (40 plus, can you believe it?) Kenny has still got it – let me tell you. He is handsome and fit and sings his ass off. He performed Danny’s song as beautifully as the day he wrote it. He jumped around the stage, danced, rocked This Is It and Footloose like he was thirty years old.

Are you ready for this? Kenny Loggins is 64. 

Kenny also performed an opening set with Blue Sky Riders, a new vocal harmony band he’s formed with two of Nashville’s top singer songwriters. Kenny said that when he told a trusted advisor he was going to form this new band and go on the road, this friend told him, “You’re too old to start a new band. Maybe you should think about retiring.” In response, Kenny and his bandmates wrote this song,  Dream,  which will now be my new life mantra.

Who are you to tell me what I can’t be

Well, that ain’t right

As if all I’ve been is all I’m ever gonna be

for the rest of my life

You take the glory days

I’ll take what’s on its way

All I can do is believe in myself

If I listen to you, they might as well

leave me in the rain, take me out to sea, lock me up in chains, throw away the key

the day I ever got too old to dream. 

After the show, we went backstage to visit with some of our friends in the band. Our friend Shem, the bass player, said that at 64, Kenny has softened as a person, but has never slowed down artistically, and is writing and singing better than ever. And then I thought about what a wuss I have been lately. 

It’s no surprise to me that this experience would come just as I told Troy I was thinking about quitting my singing career. A woman only has so much shelf life in this shallow music business, after all. Basically, I wanted to leave the biz before it left me, and it was leaving me slowly, my phone sitting quiet for months now.

As if on cue- my phone rang. A few times. And now I have two unexpected gigs this weekend (both with my hubby) and a session next week. I was feeling confused by this. The old Clash song ran though my head – Should I stay or should I go? ( you youngsters probably don’t even know who The Clash is)

Watching Kenny last night, I felt inspired again. What is age anyway? I mean, its inevitable. It’s going to happen to all of us, but it’s the way in which we age that matters. We can fill our lives with joy and gratitude and passion, or we can become bitter and rigid and stiff. Whatever way we choose, it is reflected in the way we appear. A person whose passion burns inside is beautiful on the outside.

Today I am feeling just a bit more hopeful, thanks to Kenny reminding me that I’m never too old to dream. I’m dusting off my songbook, packing up my gear for a gig tonight – and I won’t forget to bring the most important thing of all - my passion. To quote the Blue Sky Riders: You take the glory days- I'll take what's on its way...

Take a moment to watch this video and see if you don’t feel the same:

Blue Sky Riders with Kenny Loggins