Raindrops Make Me Happy

But there’s one thing I know

The blues they send to meet me won’t defeat me

It won’t be long ’til happiness steps up to greet me

- From “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” Lyrics by Burt Bacharach and Hal David

I’ve been thinking a lot about living a more joyful life lately. Today, I was thinking about happy music and you know what song makes me happy? “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” by B.J. Thomas. I haven’t listened to it in years but when I thought about happy music that was the first song that popped into my head.

I especially love the part of the song where B.J. bellows “BECAUSE I’M FREEEEEE. NOTHIN’S WORRYIN’ MEEEE.” and then the music goes nuts in one of those awesome tunes characteristic of beats commonly used in films starring Richard Benjamin in the 60s. I f*cking love it. It makes me so happy that I would like to film myself dancing Ed Grimley style to it in my closet.

One time back when Nate (my boyfriend/future husband) and I had only been dating a year or two we were sitting in the living room of his parent’s house.Nate’s mom and dad came downstairs and said they were heading out. I asked where they were going and they said they were going to see B.J. Thomas play at one of the casinos. I guess they saw my face light up at the mention of B.J. and they asked if we wanted to go.

Nate immediately replied with “Who’s B.J. Thomas?” and “Um, I think we’re good,” a typical reaction of teenage boys more interested in dry humping their girlfriend on a weekend night than going to see some old guy sing. (Oh, we might have played Monopoly but there would have definitely been dry humping.)

They left the room for a minute and I was all like, “I f*cking love B.J. Thomas and if you ever want to dry hump again we’ll go to that concert.”

So we went. (Nate’s little sister Jen may have been with us too. She would have been 9 or 10 at this point.)

We got to the casino where B.J. was playing. It was one of the smaller, not so nice casinos in Biloxi, and the room he was playing was smallish. But I was super excited. I couldn’t wait to see B.J. Thomas and his flowing bushy locks walk out onstage.

He finally came out and to this day I remember what he was wearing: A white blazer and acid washed jeans. It was sometime in the mid 90s and acid washed jeans had been out of style for a while. I loved it. I was sittin’ there thinkin’ B.J. Thomas don’t give a f*ck. He rocks.

Nate was having the complete opposite reaction next to me. “Look at those jeans,” he snickered.

“You will not speak ill of B.J,” I said. I may have also got in his ear and hissed, “Dry humping will not happen if you don’t behave.”

So I sat paying rapt attention at a concert that may have been a free show at a seedy casino, but I was filled with pure joy when he sang “Raindrops.”

The years may not have been kind to B.J., but his voice was still beautiful.

B.J. Thomas’s Greatest Hits played on my parent’s car stereo all the time when I was a little girl, and in that moment, sitting in a smoky casino I felt the pure wonderment and joy of a child seeing a daydream come to life.

This is an excerpt from a journal entry I wrote while participating in Karen Walrond’s Path Finder course. This class has been a tremendous force behind my quest to stay positive since I started therapy.

Also, I thinks it’s important to note I did not make one bl*wjob joke in this post even though there was ample opportunity. I might finally be an adult.

~~~~

Make sure you don’t miss a thing! If you’re new to The Well-Read Wife, click here to subscribe. Also, be sure to follow me on Twitter and “like” me on Facebook.