Over the weekend as I settled in to make a new recipe to try out on my family for the evening, I added good music to the ingredients.  I found myself dancing to Spotify and The Best of Chicago – a group that not only reminds me of Oprah (since Chicago is her town) but also of the most important person in my life.

As I sang and added love and happiness to the soup that I was making, I thought of how the music made me think of my mother   Hot summer days, a single mom laughing and dancing around an apartment, making a little over $2.00 an hour, working every minute and hour that she could, finding everything we needed and doing everything she could to make sure that these 3 little girls dancing to the music of  Chicago and cleaning the house beside her were strong, independent women.  Making sure that the life that we would have would be better than the life that she has had.  Making sure that the ingredients to our life were carefully added – love, gratitude, strength, leadership, creativity, empathy, tolerance, unity. 

Years later, as I danced in my kitchen and sang the worlds and hummed the tune, it made me realize that all of those pieces of love were laid out on my journey from my mom. She did this without much help and with an amazing attitude. It amazes me to look back and see the life that she has blazed and it also makes me very proud.   I hope that in my life that I take her lessons and happiness and live dancing as often as I can…because it’s those moments in life, when you are really present, that fill your heart with joy.  When you can turn on Spotify, find your favorite music that takes you back to immense JOY and simply stop and be there again.  And if you can, dance and sing like no one’s watching.