...In Which I Come to Terms With La-La-Land

Did you know Michael Jackson died? I'm sure you did. I think I was the last to know. I found out Saturday morning from my friend, Bertha.

I was shocked.

For me, the news carried a bit of the same disbelief and confusion I felt when I woke up on 9/11. I was still dreaming. It couldn't be real.

Want to know how I felt? Well. Imagine waking up one morning to find that McDonald's no longer exists. You thought it did, but you were wrong. The world I knew had changed.

I didn't even realize I had such strong feelings about MJ, but I suddenly found myself defending him, and fighting the urge to break out in "Dirty Diana." I just couldn't help it.

At the beach Saturday night I saw a kid trying to moonwalk near the bathrooms. I thought about how the whole world must be affected by his death, and I felt a little bummed and awkward for being the only one who hadn't known.

I wondered, Is there something wrong with me? How could I be so out of touch with the world outside my own? And the scariest question of all: Do I live in La-La-Land?? Because that would not be cool.

But tonight as I was reflecting on Katelyn's latest picture, and what a truly creative kid she is, I figured it out. It was simple. She and I hadn't heard the news because we had been too busy listening to our new Adele CD, which we love!! (Also, I am ashamed to admit, we have been spending a lot of time taking care of Katelyn's virtual Wii kitten. We named her Kitarita, after our neighbor's cat, which means "I'm happy/contented" in Arabic. I get so tired of "brushing" her hair and "petting" her, but without me she would probably die, and that would be tragic.)

Anyway, we have been enjoying Adele so much that we didn't even notice all the other forms of media we were missing. We just listened, and sang, and occasionally danced. It was a blast!

So I suppose the answer to my question is that yes, we are living in La-La-Land, but at least we're having a good time there!

I'm including the story behind the picture that triggered the answer to my burning question--because I think it's cute:

This morning Katelyn sat at the table, drawing.

I sat down next to her and watched. I noticed that the way she placed her circles was different than the usual faces that she draws.

"What are you drawing?" I wondered out loud.

"Notes," was her reply.

I've been teaching her piano, and I was pleased with her answer.

"Is this a song you're going to play?" I asked.

"No. It's what she's singing," she said, motioning with her head towards our CD player, where bass beats from Adele's Best For Last (love it!) were churning.

She pointed to her picture.

"These are all notes...except for that one," she said, pointing to one near the top that had a line coming up from the middle. "That one's a pumpkin."

Of course, I thought, and smiled.

As the music got more intense, Katelyn drew a frenzy of notes around the edges, and as the music relaxed, so did she.

It was quite fun to watch!

P.S. Tonight I heard that Billy Mays, the bearded infomercial person, died. Katelyn LOVES him. Should I tell her? I don't think I will. We are living in La-La-Land, afterall... ; )