A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood ™

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood

Do you have listed somewhere, "Top Ten Moments of My Life"?

I do.

Mister Rogers was my hero when I was a young child.  When I heard the piano music during his opening credits, I would jump for joy.

His songs were a part of my life.  I remember singing along to all the songs, and felt his love right through the television screen.

The Neighborhood of Make-Believe was truly magical to me.

At the end of each episode, I actually kissed him goodbye on the TV screen. 

We moved to Pittsburgh to start a new chapter of life.  When I found out that our apartment building was just around the corner of WQED, where his studio was, I was astounded.

One day, coming home from school with my stepmother and sister, there he was.  He was walking right in front of my apartment building.  I ran towards him, calling out, “Mister Rogers!  Mister Rogers!”.  He stopped and smiled at me.  Here was my hero, standing right there.

“Hello, there”, he said, and he reached out his arm to shake my hand.  His touch was very gentle, very loving.  He asked me my name. “I-I-I’m Megan”, I stammered.  “It’s very good to meet you, Megan.  Do you watch my show?”  And I proceeded to tell him how I loved his whole show, in great detail.

He chuckled and said, “I’m so glad you love my show.  Do you want to sing a song with me?”

Did I want to sing a song? Do pigeons fly?

We sang his opening song together, and I’ll tell you, it was the most amazing moment in my young life.

It’s one of the top ten experiences in my life. EVER.

I just watched the movie, “Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” with my mom.  I thought it was well done, and of course, I sang along with all the songs.

What’s amazing is that even though I’m about 45 years older than I was when I watched his show, I can tell by the lyrics that his messages have stayed with me all these years.  

There are many ways to say I love you
There are many ways to say I care about you.

It's great to know you're growing up bigger every day,
But somehow things you like to remember, are often put away...There are lots and lots of people

Who sometimes feel like this.

It's not easy to keep trying, but it's one good way to grow.
It's not easy to keep learning, but I know that this is so...
.

I'm proud of you
I'm proud of you
I hope that you're as proud as I am

As a child, these were songs of empowerment.  As a parent, these songs are empowering to us, because the message is clear:  our children will grow up faster than we realize, and as much as we want to hold on to the now, we can’t because, well, they're growing.

The reason I’m sharing this with you is that I know life is busy.  Parents deal with things all day long, and sometimes, we mechanically go about our evening routines before bedtime.  If you have extra curricular activities, then your routines are more complex.  Sometimes, after 9 pm, is the when your entire family is under your roof, and they’re sleeping.

Mister Rogers suggests that we stop, be present with each other, and discover new things about ourselves and the ones we love.

Your photography experience is so important to me.  To be trusted with your family and to photograph you authentically, to create artwork of who you all are… that’s what this is about.  To remind you of all those things that makes your family special, and your heart sing.

It’s a new year.  Go do the new things.  Go play with the kids.  Find reasons to unplug and have fun. The dishes can wait.

Lyrics and music by Fred Rogers.  All rights reserved.http://www.neighborhoodarchive.com/