I originally created this blog one night way back at the end of January when my friends and I got home from seeing the Lion King Broadway Musical production at the Ordway Theater in St. Paul. I never actually started writing in it until now though. That was the third time I'd seen the show. The first time was my junior year of high school and then in Madrid in December 2011 a little over a month before seeing it in January. I would become a Lion King junkie if I could. I absolutely LOVE it. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. It struck a chord in January though. A few of the songs made me cry. We went to see it on a Friday or Saturday night (I don't remember which!) but my mom called me a couple days before on Monday night with some sad news. Our neighbor had passed away unexpectedly in a horrible way which I could never wish upon anyone. She had a heart attack alone at home sometime over the weekend and her daughter found her dead on the floor of her kitchen on Sunday. She had been fine on Friday and had even picked her grandson up from school. She wasn't technically our neighbor anymore though, she moved to Madison where her daughter lives my first fall of college in 2008, but growing up she was like a third grandmother to me.
In the Lion King, there's a scene where Mufasa, the dad lion for those of you unfamiliar with the story, uses the song They Live In You to explain to his son Simba that even though he will die someday, he will always be there to guide Simba and his spirit, like those of the kings before him, live on inside every creature, watching over everything. (the clip isn't the whole song, but it's the best I could find that's actually from the production) The lyrics go like this and I still think of Helen when I hear them eight months later. I feel like she's still there, watching over me. My biggest regret is that I never sent her a thank you note for last year's birthday present, a Vera Bradley tote that I brought with me to Spain. I don't even remember the last time I talked to her. Since she moved to Madison, I only saw her once maybe, when we stopped at her new house on our way to Michigan for Christmas. I was going to send her a thank you postcard from Spain, but didn't have her address. And then I was going to send her a thank you on a Spain postcard when I got back to the states, but by the time I was starting to sort through the souvenirs and postcard stash I brought back to school with me, it was too late. Do things when you mean to, not five months later. It could bite you in the ass.
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
Night
And the spirit of life calling
Mamela
And a voice
With the fear of a child asking
Mamela
Wait
There's no mountain to great
Hear these words and have faith
Have faith
They live in you
They live in me
They're watching over
Everything we see
In every creature
In every star
In your reflection
They live in you
They live in you
They live in me
They're watching over
Everything we see
In every creature
In every star
In your reflection
They live in you
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala
In the spirit of the Lion King, life goes on. It is a continual cycle of life, death and rebirth. A young family purchased Helen's house next door to ours this summer and moved in a couple weeks ago. They are super nice and have three little kids aged 4, 3, and 16 months with another due this winter. I've found waking up to squeals of delight and unbridled joy in its purest form from not-quite-school-age kids puts a smile on my face every time, even if it is too early for me, the morning sleeper.
