Have you ever been so sure of something, sang the song the same way for years, perhaps decades. Then there is that day when you are singing your heart out and all of a sudden someone gives you that look. The “what did you just say?” look. I found out the hard way that the words aren’t “Swing Low, Sweet Cheerio. Coming for to carry me home.” It is a profound lesson though. That thing I was so sure of turns out to be so wrong. I could have listened to that song one million times and every time I would have heard “sweet cheerio” instead of “sweet chariot.” What are the other things - things much more significant and impactful in my life than singing the wrong lyrics - that I also cling to as truth that may actually be absurdly wrong? I was reminded of this again today when I was looking at my son’s soccer roster. The team names always have a theme. Excited to see what animal, or cartoon character or country that his team name would be this season, I scanned down and found the team name – Kookaburras! What the hell are Kookaburras? I had to look at the other team names to even figure out what category this word belongs to! Then I started laughing out loud and shouted to the coach, who happened to be in the kitchen. His comment was that it must be punishment for losing all the jerseys last season. Funny story – we had bags of giveaways in the trunk last fall and my diligent, helpful husband dropped them off at the donation center. Days later when the first soccer practice came along he went into the trunk to pull out the soccer jerseys to pass out to the team and he realized he had forgotten them at home. Oh well, he would have to bring them to the game on Saturday. Then on the ride home it hit him! We ran to the Rescue Mission – the truck had just left with the load for the week and was heading south. We called down to the main store – no luck. New jerseys had to be printed and coach would never live it down. So this was probably just another jab at the coach that ‘donated’ the entire team’s jerseys – your team gets to be the “Kookaburras” – try coming up with a team cheer for that one. Then I said it out loud. Kookaburras. My tongue stumbled on it. Wait! I had one of those realizations. No, it couldn’t be. This one was a childhood classic that my mom sang to me at bedtime. Her mother had taught it to her. I had passed it down to my children. I couldn’t have gotten this one wrong all these years! “Cooka Bear sits on the old gum tree, Merry merry king of the bush is he. Laugh, Cooka Bear, laugh, Cooka Bear, Gay your life must be!” I always pictured a Cooka Bear sitting in the tree. Erect on the tree limb, plucking colorful gumdrops from the tree…laughing. Oh wow. I guess my image might be a little far-fetched. But that’s what the words said! “Cooka Bear sits in the old gum tree Eating all the gumdrops he can see Stop, Cooka Bear, Stop, Cooka Bear Leave some there for me.” So, could this be my beloved Cooka Bear? I google it. Not much comes up when you google “Cooka Bear.” I thought I would see something like this: But if you google “Kookaburras” you get 914,000 results! Lots of pictures like this: A bird! An Australian King Fisher who’s song sounds like human laughter…. A bird! If you haven’t ever heard the beautiful popular Australian nursery rhyme about a bird, not a bear- check it out!
So, another example of how fallible my certainties are. Lesson learned.....again. Then after the shock wore off, I thought about how special it is that my son is on the Kookaburras team this season. I think it was meant to be. And you can be sure you will hear me on the sidelines, cheering louder than anyone “GO COOKA BEARS!”
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AuthorSome times I write. Even less than "some" times I share what I write. For those moments that I write and want to share I have done so here. Archives
December 2017
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