The Beatles Saranthology

Anyone who knows me knows that I sometimes have trouble finding the right words to express my thoughts or feelings. I often turn to song lyrics to say the things I can’t seem to pontificate. One band in particular I can lean on more than most.

When I was young girl in Syracuse, NY my father worked days while my mother worked nights. On the nights Mom worked, my dad would entertain my older brother and me by singing and dancing to The Beatles while making dinner. As a child I found this charming and entertaining but never really connected with the music. It wasn’t until I was much older that I discovered the wisdom in the lyrics that were sung to me.

Since I had trouble deciding the best way to navigate you through the 31 years I’ve lived – through my adolescent struggles to fit in, through my reckless college years, through my move to Atlanta and my short-lived marriage to the wrong man, and especially through raising my 4 year old daughter Skye – I’ve decided to let Paul, John, George, and Ringo do it for me.

As children, we’re all taught that The Long and Windy Road ahead of us is a Magical Mystery Tour leading us to Strawberry Fields Forever.  But by the time I reached junior high school, and the Lady Madonnas began their cruel Helter Skelter tricks (as young ladies often to do), I was left the Fool on the Hill, Searchin for Something, I felt as though everyone Across the Universe had been given a Ticket to Ride, while I was left a Nowhere Man, marching to the beat of my own Lonely Hearts Club Band.

But I had passions; I dreamed of becoming a Paperback Writer. Unfortunately I was told “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away.”  The Taxman is Here There and Everywhere, so You’ve got to work Eight Days a Week to keep up. I heard my parents voice in my head say “Don’t Let Me Down,” and I decided that Money is What I Want! That started a Revolution in my thinking, and was accepted to Albany College of Pharmacy. I Should’ve Known Better.

I set out to Drive my Car a few hours away from home and form A Beginning. But while I made an attempt at Fixing a Hole Inside, around me there was just Too Much Monkey Business. It didn’t take long for me to become a Day Tripper. A Day in the Life of Sara was For No One, and I couldn’t figure out how to Get Back. The Misery left me thinking that maybe Happiness is a Warm Gun, and I finally had to yell, HELP!  And with A Little Help from my Friends, I cleaned up, graduated, looked up, and realized; Here Comes the Sun.

After graduation I was Getting Better, said Hello Goodbye to NY, and moved to Atlanta. It was then I Saw Him Standing There. I thought well, Baby You’re a Rich Man, Come and Get It. He was saying nothing but I Wanna Hold Your Hand, but my M.O. was still Please, Please Me.  Too late, I learned that Money Can’t Buy Me Love. We’d Come Together in marriage, and though he said We Can Work it Out, it’d been a Hard Days Night and All My Lovin was left in Yesterday.

Real Love escaped me for a long time, and for a while I was Everybody’s Baby. Life was beginning again to feel like a World Without Love. I Needed Someone, but in my mind I was saying “I’m a Loser” so if I decided You Like Me Too Much, I’d Be on My Way. But in the midst of my Crying, Hoping, Waiting, Goo Goo Gachoo, I discovered I was going to have a Little Child. In Spite of All the Danger I decided to Let it Be, and on June 10^th, 2006 Her Majesty Skye Nicole was born.

On her Birthday I took one look and thought “I’m in Love.”  Now, I couldn’t Imagine life without her. I will teach her all the things I didn’t know: Think For Yourself, All Things Must Pass, and Act Naturally. I get to wake up every morning and say Hello Little Girl, and she teaches me how to Take a Sad Song and Make it Better. To Know Her is to Love Her, And I Love Her.

Now, life isn’t all Watching Rainbows and listening to the Blackbirds. But Do You Want to Know a Secret? I still freak out about What Tomorrow Never Knows, and sometimes I feel like Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey. But I Fancy Me Chances and at The End of the day, I Feel Fine.

I know that When I’m 64 I will look back on these lessons, as I am now, and realize that every one of them has brought me to where I am today. And From Me to You, In My Life, the most important thing I’ve learned is All You Need is Love.