Podcast: Play in new window | Download
During Christmas break, we visited my Tennessee family. Our kids enjoyed cousins, and we reveled in time together and making new memories.
When I was growing up, I loved the quiet adventures of roaming through the backwoods behind our house. One of the joys of having a nine-year-old son is recapturing my own moments of childhood by watching him grow.
I still love the outdoors, and Jack keeps me coming back to some of my old haunts.
The other day we set off for the beaver dam that stretches across the swamp southeast from the house. With walking sticks and thick boots, we edged our ways across mud, logs and through brambles…We slowly inched our way across the few hundred yards of dam.
Rain fell lightly, and soon I buried my water-spotted glasses in my coat pocket. At some turns, we would hold to wet branches and swing ourselves out toward the water or crawl through narrow openings of small branches to make it to the next part of the dam.
Jack was determined to cross the entire expanse. When we reached the other side, we took a break to swap stories. Then we searched for deer prints, and followed fence lines for miles of woods, meadows, puddles, and winding road back toward home.
A few days later, I was playing guitar and playing around with lyrics–trying to recapture the joy of watching him captivated by these small adventures.
The first lines were: There is a boy whose name is Jack…he likes to roam, he likes the backwoods.
Jack suggested I change the word backwoods to boondocks, so I guess you could say we co-wrote the song.
Here are the lyrics:
Chasing Dreams And Catching Moons
There is a boy whose name is Jack
He likes to roam, he likes the boondocks
You hear him hum a traveler’s song
While finding trails, so far from home
He crosses swamps and beaver dams
Climbs mountain peaks and crosses sands
Wields axe and starts the campground fire now
And settles down to dream awhile
Chorus:
Adventure is his meat and drink
The pirate treasure his to seek
The river-ways his ocean cruise
While chasing dreams and catching moons
And when the day begins to fade
Jack’s trail will finally find the way
Although his search is far from done
He comes back to the warmth of home
And as he lays upon his bed
He rests his tired and weary head
But in his mind, the road still holds
More trails to climb, more miles to go
Adventure is his meat and drink
The pirate treasure his to seek
The river-ways his ocean cruise
While chasing dreams and catching moons
by William D. Parker, Copy-write 2014, All Rights Reserved
Mp3 Recording
Later I did a quick recording using my laptop so I wouldn’t forget the memory. Below you can play the audio of Chasing Dreams & Catching Moons. Please excuse the amateur quality. I hope you enjoy it.
Now It’s Your Turn
If you are not taking time to recharge your mental and emotional batteries, find ways to do so soon. What are some ways you have built new memories to reenergize yourself for the new year ahead? Share with the rest of us. And I hope you have you a great New Year!
Sign-Up For Free Updates and Ebook
When you enter your email address below, you will automatically receive my newest posts and a free Ebook, 8 Hats: Essential Roles for School Leaders. Let’s keep learning together!
[yks-mailchimp-list id=”43cf67799e” submit_text=”Submit”]
