Ok, so on our latest Neighborgood episode, my cousin was the storyteller.

I do realize this kind of sounds like that thing where you only hire your family to be a part of your Big Thing… but listen. The Neighborgood is not a Big Thing. Not yet, anyhow. And Jim is cool.

Also, I’m really trying to get my dad on the show too. He’s cool too. It’s my podcast. I can do what I want.

Anyhow. Jim’s story is about how he got Covid.. and how he had Covid-guilt (it’s a thing). And how he is now. And if you want to hear more, go listen. This post is about this:

Well, not really, but I really cannot seem to avoid posting this picture of Jim in his prom tux in as many places as possible.

What this post is REALLY about, in spite of all the 70’s goodness, is songwriting.

Jim is a lot of things. He’s a pastor at a church. He’s an expert of the enneagram. He used to be a science teacher. He’s an artist. And he is a musician. And so is his son, Daniel.

There is lot of creativity going on with this family. Like… a LOT. And I am grateful for it.

My family is creative. My mom is a painter (she would say she “was” but in my book, once a painter, always a painter.) Also my dad? He has the ability to fix almost anything with stray baling wire. That’s creative, folks. My sister, Jenni? She paints. She decorates cakes. She also sends me snapchats on a regular basis of her pug, Arya, doing something cute to disco music. See? More creativity.

My sister Sherry? The best ideas ever for engaging little kids (Sensory tables! Cookie decorating contests! Endless patience!) And she quilts. I have one of her creations on my bed and am glad that she is the quilter in the family because: Warmth, but beautiful.

My brother? Don’t get me started. He used to do radio shows -recorded on a cassette player of the olden days that looks like this:

He basically did a one-man comedy show that was actually funny. Sometimes he would invite us as guests, Jenni and I. We would ruin it. His humor lit up a room.

And then there’s me. The youngest one in the bunch. I write things. And now, I podcast things. I have to, because if I don’t I feel like something is missing.

And lately, I have really come to appreciate this whole creativity thing. It seems more important now, as I get older. And 2020. And sadness.

Creativity saves us all.

It’s songwriting, for the soul.

And lest you think that’s cheesy, just remember this: The first thing that we know about God is that He created things. And no, I am not comparing myself to God. Not even.

I’m just saying: God created us. We create things. It’s the formula. Or we wither.

And… Here are some of Jim’s paintings. They are lovely:

And finally,

#nobodyframesspreadsheets: