For Christmas 2017, I got the entire family Beach Boys tickets.  While the children have seen lots of Broadway shows, they’d never been to an actual concert, and I was excited to share the Beach Boys with them.  The concert was on Mother’s Day and we were supposed to leave at 5:00.

I’m not sure of the exact time, but somewhere around 2 or 3, Emery was checking on the goats and discovered Theodosia in labor.  (You can watch the Facebook Live of the delivery if you’d like.)

Fortunately, it was not complicated (or too long) and we soon had healthy twins – Tad Lincoln and Tea Cake – dried off and drinking their bottle.

We were not about to miss our concert, so we called an employee who loves the baby goats and fortunately she was available to spend some time with them (and fed them some more) while we cleaned ourselves off and headed to the concert.

After the concert, we met Mike Love and were able to get a photo with him.  Mike is one of the original Beach Boys and is the only one who has been with the band throughout the entire life of The Beach Boys.  As normally happens when I get interested in something, I did more “research”.

I read Mike’s autobiography “Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy” and watched the movie Love and Mercy which is based on a portion of Brian Wilson’s story.

While the movie is focused on Brian Wilson, during the movie I was struck by Mike’s dedication to his purpose and what the Beach Boys stood (and still stand) for.

There is a scene in the movie (around minute 55) where The Beach Boys are working on the album, Pet Sounds (which was not a big hit with American audiences but was critically acclaimed and did well in Britain).  The short version of the scene goes something like this:

Mike (to Brian about the songs on the album): No, no it’s amateurish, it’s amateurish.

Brian: It’s hip, man it’s fun! It’s now! That’s where things are happening.

Mike: Brian, it’s not fun. This is not fun. Not the music, not the lyrics. Now it’s not all bad, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not Beach Boys fun… They’re [fans of the band] not going to buy something depressing like that. Even the happy songs are sad. We need to write some of the old stuff again.

Now, this is just a movie and not a direct quote as far as I know, but it is consistent with what I read in the autobiography.

I was totally struck by the difference in their personalities and vision.  I’m not saying that one view is right and one view is wrong.  Sometimes it’s right to try something new (Brian’s view) because being stuck in the past is not always a good thing.

But there is something to be said for consistently sticking to your core values (Mike’s view) and what you stand for.

People love the Beach Boys because of all their original stuff.  At the concert we went to, it was a much older crowd.  Jim and I and my children were sitting dead center about 10 rows back.  We were standing for many of the favorite songs while the vast majority of the audience remained seated.

And in case you were wondering, we even smuggled in Beach Balls and blew them up to toss around before the concert.  The children were quite upset when they were confiscated.

It wasn’t until the end of the concert, when the Beach Boys broke out with all the old, original, classic Beach Boys songs (Fun Fun Fun, Surfin’ USA, etc.), that the ENTIRE audience stood up and started cheering, singing, and dancing.  It was almost as if it was a completely different concert.

And I think that is what Mike Love was trying to express in the movie scene I referenced.  People fell in love with the Beach Boys for a reason and Brian Wilson was trying to move past that because he wanted to express himself differently.

And so I’ve been thinking to myself, what am I forgetting or moving past that is meaningful to my family?  When we sit around talking as a family and reminiscing, what gets mentioned?  How can I do more of that or bring more of it back to our family life?

The first thing that came to mind is reading out loud to my children.  I used to do it all the time.  But then life got “busy”.  We started Goat Milk Stuff and that added a lot more work to our plates.  The garden has grown tremendously and the upkeep and canning has grown with it.  Many of the children are teenagers and have outside events with their friends that take them away from family time.

The last time I read out loud to the family was probably about a year or so ago when we simultaneously read The Millionaire Next Door* and The Wind in the Willows*.  (A chapter of the first followed by a chapter – or two – of the second).

Reading has always been tremendously important to me.  It’s the gateway to so much.  Frederick Douglass said, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”  And Strickland Gillian wrote, “You may have tangible wealth untold; caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. Richer than I you can never be. I had a mother who read to me.”

I can go on and on with quotes about the importance of reading not just yourself, but to your children.  And so I’ve been inspired to not let life get in the way of something that is so foundational to who I am as a mother.  Because I have gotten distracted by “what’s hip, fun, now and what’s happening.”

And so I’m getting ready to start reading the next set of books.  I’ve chosen to continue the Chronicles of Narnia* and add Your Money or Your Life*.  (I try to read a “fun” book with a “practical” book concurrently to get the children in that habit).

We had started Narnia over the winter, but it’s disheartening for me to read when not everybody is here to listen.  I need to get past that and recognize that while my older children may be gone many evenings, my younger children aren’t.   I’m going to work (or in this case read) with what I’ve got.

I also noticed a few weeks ago that Jim and I weren’t having as much together time as either of us desired.  And so we are both sacrificing sleep and have started walking together again in the mornings before work.  It takes us about an hour.  Sometimes we chat the entire walk and sometimes we’re quiet and just enjoy being near each other.

Those are just two examples.  But it’s a start as I puzzle my way through what other aspects of my purpose may have been sidetracked by this crazy thing we call life.

And I challenge you to think about what’s important to you that you may have lost along the way.

Getting distracted happens to all of us.  Life is so busy, it’s very easy to do.  But I hope this gives you a nudge to rethink about getting back to the “old stuff”.

Are there some classic behaviors that you’ve dropped that you want to reclaim?

Are there some classic behaviors that your children would like you to reclaim?

What about your spouse?  As life gets going and children come along, many times we can let our relationship with our spouse suffer.

Think about it, pray about it, talk to your family about it.  And then add something important back – one item at a time – until that important item is a regular part of your life again.

*Amazon Affiliate Link to the books that are mentioned.