We told everybody all you need is now

I am nearly positive I begin Monday the same way, by saying that it’s a very busy day. They always seem that way! Today is a picnic and sing-a-long at the school of my youngest. She is in her very final year at preschool, and next year she will start kindergarten. This day is bittersweet for me because it’s the very last one. Of course, I did say that before…about nine years ago when it was my son’s turn for his final sing-a-long. Little did I know that I’d be back for yet another “tour of duty” at our preschool. All three of my kids have attended the same preschool (In the US, preschool is optional and it’s not “free” in most cases – and we have our choice of where our children attend. Once you get to Kindergarten, in most cases you attend the school within the predetermined “boundary” for your neighborhood.). What is special for us is that quite a few of the same teachers are still at the school now as there were when my oldest two attended – and they still remember my kids. (and in case you’ve lost track, my kids are 16, 13, and 5.)  So, assuming that I am completely finished having children (I am!!), this will be a final good bye for us, and today all three of my kids will be at the picnic and sing-a-long (under protest in the case of my son….but I’m willing to accept that.), and there will be photos. We have a tradition of doing a “first and last day of school” photo by the school sign…and today I’m getting one with all three. Cheesy? Nostalgic?  Perhaps, but I’m allowed. I am mom.

Lately, it’s been a series of saying “good-bye”. We bid farewell to our para-educator for my son’s homeschool program earlier this month as he moves on to a high school program and she retires; then last week I picked up my oldest at her arts high school for the final time. (I am NOT sorry to be saying sayonara to that commute on the 5 freeway each day – her new school is literally 4 minutes from our house, as opposed to that blasted nearly two hour commute back and forth!) Today, it’s my youngest’s turn. It seems to me that nothing ever stays the same for very long, and we all constantly need to adjust and evolve as necessary.  I have found the constant change to be difficult at times, as it is typically me who does the most “adjusting”, but it’s part of being a parent. The band collectively says that they aren’t particularly nostalgic…well, I think that as a parent, I can’t help but embrace a bit of nostalgia from time to time. When my oldest two were very little, I think I spent a fair amount of time wishing they would grow. I couldn’t wait for them to begin school and get involved in things. I blinked, and now I’ve got a junior (10th grade or about 16 years-old) and freshman (9th grade or about 14 years-old) in high school. Where did that time really go?!? So with my youngest, I admit that I’ve spent more time enjoying these preschool years. They have gone incredibly fast (it feels like just yesterday that I was sitting in the doctors office being told that while yes, she said it was unlikely that I would have more children – I was definitely having another baby!), and now we’re about to start the whole elementary school process all over again.  I’m not sure that I’m really ready, but as life typically works out: ready or not, here we come.

So as some of the Katy Kafe discussions and tiny news bytes and things have come out regarding the new album – one of the comments I hear most often from the band this time is that they really aren’t nostalgic and that they keep moving forward. They don’t expect the next album to sound like All You Need is Now because they’ve already gone down that road. I can understand that, because with art – sometimes looking back really does hamper you from moving forward. It’s even that way as a parent, so one has to keep it all in prospective. Just as it wouldn’t be fair for me to keep my youngest at her preschool because I adore the school – it wouldn’t be fair to insist that the band continue to put out Rio over and over again.  Some might say that the last album really was Rio, the sequel, but I would disagree. I believe there is a difference between taking ownership of the space you’ve created for yourself – the sound that is uniquely yours – and continually rewriting history. However, on that same note, I believe there is also value to be found when you look back over the whole of your career.  You see where you’ve been, but you’re also able to see where you are going, and have some sense of the full extent of what you’ve accomplished. Although my two oldest have done quite a bit of growing since they sang at their last preschool picnic, my daughter still has the same sense of humor (albeit a bit more dry) and joyous energy, and my son is still as serious and quiet (albeit he’s found his own EXTREMELY dry sense of humor and sarcasm!). They are the same people, just more grown-up.

So, while I don’t expect #DD14 to be the same style as All You Need is Now, I do anticipate hearing some of the same glimmering attributes that I know to be Duran Duran: the stacked harmonies, John’s terrific bass lines, Nick’s synths, and if I’m lucky – maybe a bit more guitar. I loved what they did with All You Need is Now, but that won’t stop me from moving forward and being excited for what is to come next. I look forward to seeing how the band grows.

As I give my youngest a final squeeze before I send her into her preschool classroom a final time, I will probably be holding back a few tears (I am mom and it’s my Right.)…thinking back on how lucky I’ve been to experience all of this a final time (again!), but excited about what kind of wonderful person she is to become in the future.

-R