Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2007. Mattie was five years old and by that point, he was in kindergarten and truly blossoming and developing beautifully! He was excited about learning, loved his school, and had solid friendships. In all reality, we had the perfect existence! It is hard to believe that only seven months later Mattie was diagnosed with cancer!
Quote of the day: Have you ever walked down a crowded street, smelling a familiar scent and trying to look around for a familiar shadow or hearing a familiar voice? Then you felt a sharp pain recalling old sweet memories you shared with someone, and you wished you could see even a glimpse of them. ~ Verliza Gajeles
This morning I was listening to a podcast on my phone while getting dressed. Given that I was listening to a Christmas Eve podcast, they were joking about Christmas songs and asked the audience to call in with their least favorite songs. Honestly I am not sure I dislike any particular Christmas song. I can appreciate the meaning or fun in each one. But nonetheless, the topic intrigued me. So I kept on listening. You want to know what the number one song people called about? Try Dominick the Donkey! Truly, I screamed out...... WHAT??? What kind of Christmas song is this? Turns out this song came out in 1960, and it was to celebrate the Italian culture! Rather embarrassing that I did not know this given that both sides of my family are ITALIAN! So you know what I had to do...... THAT'S RIGHT, I went to YouTube to look up this song. Here it is.........
I don't know about you, but I absolutely LOVED it! It makes me laugh! I don't know if it is the sing-songy nature of the tune or the white donkey pictured in the song! The premise is that Santa can't get his reindeer up the mountainous terrain of Italy to deliver Christmas gifts to the children, so Santa turns to Dominick for help! Wrapped in the song are Italian words like paesans (fellow Italians), cummares (Godmothers), cumpares (Godfathers), and Il Ciucciariello (little donkey). If you have never heard of Dominick the Donkey like me, I hope it gives you a chuckle too!!!
Just in case you are curious, below is a list of the "worst Christmas songs." Or at least the ones that many people vote on being the worst! What do you think? Do you agree?
Novelty & Annoying Repetition:
- "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" (Gayla Peevey)
- "Dominick the Donkey" (Lou Monte)
- "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" (Alvin and the Chipmunks)
- "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" (Elmo & Patsy)
Overplayed:
- "All I Want for Christmas Is You" (Mariah Carey)
- "Last Christmas" (Wham!)
Cheesy or Cringe-Worthy Modern Tracks:
- Mistletoe" (Justin Bieber)
- "Wonderful Christmastime" (Paul McCartney, or covers by Hilary Duff)
- "Christmas Shoes" (NewSong)
I frankly never heard of Mistletoe by Justin Bieber. Which isn't surprising as I am not always a fan. So just like Dominick the Donkey, I went to YouTube to look up this song. Guess what? I loved it! Perhaps it is the Hallmark type of cuteness that got to me... as I appreciate the simplicity and honesty of love. May we all find and be able to keep such a special kind of mistletoe love in our lives. As to me such love is what makes life worth living.
