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Every Little Thing by April Jeppson

The clouds and the rain are starting to get to me. At first, it was a nice break from the heat, but now it makes me want to stay in bed all day. Even when I get out of bed and get to work, it’s as if the dreariness sneaks into the building. I can see the effects on my coworkers, too. We are all ready to lay on the couch, eat comfort food and snuggle. This weather has us slowly turning into cats.

This is not the first time the weather or some extenuating circumstance has zapped my mojo. I have a pretty solid list of ways to forcibly snap my way out of it. On the top of that list is to play upbeat music. The music style that I need depends partly on what I’m mentally preparing for. My getting ready to coach music is different than if I’m getting ready for a girls’ night. However there are a few songs that work no matter what the situation is. “MmmBop” by Hanson is at the top of that list.

“MmmBop” is an upbeat pop song that came out in 1997. The band is made up of three brothers who were young teens at the time. I remember my neighbor had recorded the band’s appearance on Saturday Night Live. She had me over and she played, rewound and replayed that VHS tape more times than I can remember. I thought it was cool that these kids could sing so well. The music was catchy and upbeat, and I wanted to memorize every word.

I have found, for me, that three times on repeat gives “MmmBop” its maximum power. For many random and not all known reasons, this morning was incredibly hard. I needed a negative energy exorcism. After probably an hour of internal arguing about how I need to get up, I found myself trying to get ready for the day. I grabbed my phone and started a random upbeat playlist. A few songs in, “MmmBop” started, and I immediately hit the “repeat 1 song” button. Three times wasn’t enough this morning. I let it play until I had a full dose, which today meant 40 minutes.

I have told many people about the power of “MmmBop.” Most think I’m making a joke, as I’ve discovered not everyone has the same affinity for the song as I do. So for some of my friends, my music choices this morning would have been considered torture. For me, it was exactly what I needed.

It’s still gloomy and raining out. My circumstances that bummed me out this morning are still exactly the same. However, for the time being, I feel better. I mean, I still want to be a cat, but I can wait till after work before I lay around, eat snacks and snuggle.

Albert Lean April Jeppson is a wife, mom, coach and encourager of dreams. Her column appears every Saturday.