For Good

A little over a week ago, I penned a post about my bucket list ... my list of things I'd like to see, do or accomplish before I die. I didn't elaborate much in that post about the things on my list, except to say that it has evolved a great deal since I first began composing it more than a decade ago. There are some things, however, that I placed on the list that have remained ... things that I imagine will never be removed and quite possibly will never be crossed off as completed either, which makes me a bit sad from time to time when I think about it. Maybe as time goes along, I'll share more of my seemingly unattainable bucket list items with you, but for today, I'd like to share just one. Many of you will think it's a rather dumb item to be on a person's list of major things to do before he or she leaves this world, but I would also guess there are at least of few of you who will nod your heads in agreement when I tell you what it is. So here it is, dumb though it may be ... I would like to go to New York City and see a Broadway musical.

I don't possess one ounce of musical talent, which makes it even more odd, I suppose, that seeing a musical would make it to my bucket list and remain there through several iterations of said list down through the years. Each of my children are blessed with musical talent, however, and they all participated in their respective schools' presentations of various musicals when they were in high school. And for all the activities my kiddos were involved in when they were young, I must say that watching them perform their hearts out in the musicals always made this mom's heart swell with pride when I saw them appear on stage. Perhaps that's part of why going to New York and seeing a Broadway musical has garnered such staying power for my bucket list ... because my kids had such a blast singing, dancing and acting in those productions and I so enjoyed seeing them being involved in something they loved so much.

Sometimes when I have trouble sleeping, which is way too often these days, I crawl out of bed and stretch out on the couch and watch videos on my laptop. Most of the time, I watch Ellen clips or old television shows on YouTube, usually something light or funny with the hope that it will cause me to get drowsy and be able to fall asleep. You know the little sidebar that's on YouTube ... the sidebar that offers suggestions for other videos the viewer might enjoy? I can't remember now what I was watching, but one of the suggested clips was the performance of a song by Kristin Chenoweth and Anna Kendrick from the Broadway musical Wicked. My interest was sparked when I saw Kristin's name because my brother and sister-in-law are good friends with her parents ... in fact, they've known Kristin for many years and even call her their adopted daughter. The song was "For Good," and while I'm sure I've probably heard it before, last night the words spoke so deeply to me that by the time I clicked off my laptop and climbed back into bed, my cheeks were wet from the tears that had coursed down them as the words reverberated in my soul.

The first thought on my mind this morning when I woke was the song, and after I fed Julie and Ollie, I jumped on my laptop to find out more about the musical Wicked and to read the lyrics to "For Good." I must admit, I had no idea what the musical is about, and I was surprised when I read that it's about an unlikely friendship that forms between the witches from The Wizard of Oz. The more I read about the story, the more I thought about people in my life who have made such a difference to me ... people who have changed me because I knew them ... people who have changed me for good ... people who have left their handprints on my heart ... people who make me know that I'm who I am today because I knew them. And as I walked along the trail with Ollie this morning, I found myself hoping beyond hope that when the day comes that I do indeed kick the bucket, others will be able to say the same about me.

For Good

"I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes the sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have rewritten mine
By being my friend
Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
Because I knew you
I have been changed for good

And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I've done you blame me for
But then, I guess we know
There's blame to share
And none of it seems to matter anymore

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes the sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
I do believe I have been changed for the better

And because I knew you
Because I knew you
I have been changed for good."