Put On Your Red Shoes And Dance The Blues

This was the song that made me realize how much music ran in my mother's soul too.

It was always on in the house, AM radio in the mornings before school, in the car for errands and car pools, a record player in the living room always. But here I was 12 or 13 years old, finally discovering my own taste in music, and Bowie releases this song. Well, my mother starts watching MTV as obsessively as I did, waiting for a glimpse of this clip. And it all starts coming together for me; my mother was a FAN. A BIG fan. She bought this album, and a postcard to hang in her office cubicle, and suddenly re-embraced, at least openly, her love of popular music. Maybe it was "ok" to do so again.

But my mother's love of music, whether overt or implied, has permeated my whole life, as you well know. Besides this, she has given me many other gifts, a sense of responsibility and pride in family and community, the power to act responsibly and with caring and concern, strength, compassion for others, boundless love.

I am really blessed to have my mother and the relationship we share. She teaches me things every passing year, and as I become more connected in my community and watch her reconnect as well and be very active and involved, I am really, really proud when I meet people who tell me how much they admire my mother, and are grateful for what she gives to the community. And I realize how lucky I have been all my life to have her teaching me those lessons as well.

Let's Dance - David Bowie