Liner Notes

Influential Yesterdays ©2013 Gary Garbett

My life is a record album. I have no top 40 radio singles, but the liner notes are extensive. An ever-growing list of thank-yous and special guests continue to make appearances in my unending swansong.

silent celebration

Yesterday I made a two-hour drive to say my goodbyes to a longtime friend. Most of my drive was spent listening to the silence of my thoughts equally balanced with the soft hum of the road. An overflow of memories was my co-pilot.

The emotional evening was a celebration of lives touched by a beautiful, spirited, and love filled woman. Selfishness always seems to get in the way when I unexpectedly lose a loved one. My thoughts are always the same, wishing I'd had the chance to say goodbye.

With fewer than twenty days marked from the calendar this New Year, most have been filled with unexpected love, including these past few days of recent loss.

A gorgeous bright moonlight assisted my headlights in lighting the long rural road trip home. Just as I had done earlier in the day, my co-pilot was once again the silence of memories, this time though, they were paired with many tears of love. A life’s celebration continues.

imperfectly beautiful

polaroid100_500

I believe in second chances far more than abandonment.

Fewer days thrill me more than those where I can take something that’s been discarded, breathe new life in it, and have it resuscitate the same in me. I’m constantly surrounded by hand me downs, throwaways, secondhand left behinds, and rescues… each by choice. With their used to be past, their visibly less than perfect flaws, and their distinctive individualities, each mirror my own life perfectly.

Popularity is generally temporary fluff. The combination of uniqueness, imperfection, and originality however, will always display a sincere timeless genuine beauty.

I believe in believing.

Returned Goodness

Zero’s Ride Home

I'm not usually one that reads too terribly much into patterns or numbers. Common human nature though seems to look for signs, especially when turning over a New Year. Yesterday was a prime example. I found two like new Polaroid cameras at two different thrift stores on day two of this New Year. It was clearly a sign, so I was left with no other option than to add them to my collection.

Today, I adopted a new member into our family. The two of us met several months ago while I was hanging an art exhibition. Little did I know on that hot summer day in August that he and I would be taking a car ride together on January 3. As I write this, he and our other two dogs (that makes three on day three of January) are sitting in my office together, getting acquainted, and chatting about our new family.

New Years always have a tendency to offer us fresh beginnings. Both are incredibly healthy and provide a way to look forward while at the same time allowing us the opportunity to recharge from our pasts. On January 1, the idea of adding a few more cameras or another love to our family by the end of the week was the furthest thing from my mind. Things just happen some times. Out of the blue. I’ve always believed in the idea of making good of those things around you. In return, they'll find a genuine way to return that goodness back to you.

Looking Back One Year Later | January 3, 2014

The photo above was taken just minutes after Zero and I were headed home for the very first time. I think he was a little unsure of all of this new stuff. It was a big day for him... a new home; a full vet exam with poking, prodding and shots; a new family with other dogs and cats; a new bed with new toys; and a huge ginormous yard in the country for running and playing. He fit right in and became part of our family immediately.

There hasn't been a day over the past year when I haven't laughed out loud countless times because of his goodness and love for life. He was my coach and cheerleader during the past year of my middle aged graduate school thesis writing. He'd often lay in my home study with his belly to the sky and take a nap as I typed and edited and typed some more. And then unexpectedly, he'd surprise me with a big eyed stare, a paw on my lap, and a soggy toy. I needed those breaks and he knew it.

This little guy is such a joy to my world. I can tell the feeling is mutual for him as well. He is one happy boy. Happy Unbirthday to my best, best Buddy. I love this guy.

celebrating birthdays. celebrating years.

A Birthday Wish

We recently celebrated our daughter’s birthday… again. It feels like I light the candles on that family tradition birthday cake every few weeks rather than years.

Aside from those years when I was an ambitious teen managing my small town paper route monopoly, fatherhood feels like it’s been a fixture in my life for my entire life. With everyone now grown, my position, as a father is certainly different than it once was. The love and dedication I have for our children has never wavered. Those emotions however, much like our children and myself, have all matured. Adjusting from so many years of dedicated full time parenting to an occasional visit a few times a year has certainly taken some getting use to. I get better at it every day.

From the time I was a child myself, I’ve always been an avid collector of music. With this new level of parenting, I’m now able to listen to quite a few more albums in their entirety than I was able to find time for over the past three decades. My dogs and I also spend more quality time together than we once did. They love it and so do I. Luckily for me, the pups are also music aficionados. It’s a double win for each of us.

Perhaps there was a day or two during my endless years of parenting that wasn’t quite perfect. The whole parenting thing is so judgmental. It doesn’t come with a manual or even a report card, but I’m convinced that I did a better than average job as Daddy. What I do know for sure, is that every moment of it came from the heart.

Before you know it, we’ll be celebrating another birthday year with that same cake recipe and lighting a few more candles. Before that time though, the pups and I have enough time to listen to a few more records. Life, like a song, is beyond that good.