July 24, 2006

♪♫ I Shall Call the Pebble Dare ♫♪

We recently went to see our friend Jackie perform in Godspell at a local community theatre. (She is not one of the butchers, a comment you will understand should you choose to read this entire post. Jackie is a Shining Star and rarely, if ever, sings off-key.)

That musical holds a special place in my heart as it was The Boy's final high school show. He played the role of "Jesus." (We also had "Judas" living with us that year. Life in the suburbs can be weird.)

As recently as this time last year, I don't think I could have gone to see it again. That whole empty-nest-fucking-with-my- head-and-heart mess was still too real, too happening. I've come a long way, my friends. Only took me three years to figure out how to be the parent of a grown-up child. But hey, I did it. Sort of. Yay me?

So anyway, since I am so emotionally mature these days I could attend the show. As each song began, fond memories of students who performed them at The Boy's high school filled my heart. Jenna. Albert. Whitney. Megan. James. Caitlin. LaVonia. Will. Greg. Mandy. Brandon. Karen. (Well, Karen not so much.) I swear I could hear their voices. (Have I always been so sappy?)

The title of this post has been stuck in my head ever since, as it often was back then. It's from a song titled "By My Side" which speaks to me of forward movement, of embracing personal challenges, of finding peace.

In other words, it's about growth. Or so it speaks to me.

The song is a soft female duet filled with delightful, lyrical harmonies. Or I should say it's supposed to be. The two women who sang it that night butchered it.

Thankfully I had Megan and Whitney singing in my head instead:
I shall call the pebble Dare
We will walk, we will talk together
About walking Dare shall be carried

And when we both have had enough
I will take him from my shoe, singing

"Meet your new road!"

Motherhood, I have discovered, is much like being the pebble.

.

6 comments:

Gina said...

Awwww man.... I don't wanna be a pebble!

How's that for maturity?

nina michelle said...

oooh, motherhood...

I am afraid I am failing...

or will be once the dust settles...

WenWhit said...

Fond memory. Good times. Great boy.

*smooch*

tiff said...

I am yet a boulder, but slowly being ground to pebbledom with each year of my children's growth. Then sand, then dust, then... nothing.

And I guess that's how it should be, right?

Deb Heller said...

Motherhood ... I am but a pebble at the bottom of fast flowing river. I'm real clean, nothing but moss clings to me. Oh, and I'm an anchor for my girls. Until I need to let go. That's a ways off... for now.

Anonymous said...

If you can remember from the lyrics...
Then the man they called Judas Iscariot
Went to the chief priests,
and said "What will you give me to betray
Him to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver.
And from that moment,
he began to look out for an opportunity
To betray Him.

This whole story is referring to Jesus Christ and his story.

The "pebble," or the "dare" is reffering to Christ's struggle in bringing Christianity to the world.

This song is all an inderect reference to that biblical story.

It is a song about trust.

Through the song, attention is payed to the pebble, the trust is that "you" will still be there after the pebble is removed from the shoe.