The earliest memories I have of my Dad are running to him when he came into the door at the end of his work day. He would pick me up into the air and say, “Opa!” as I got a little older, probably ages three to five, I remember wearing a life jacket in the swimming pool in our backyard and my dad would pick us up and throw us from the shallow end, over the rope into the deep end and we would swim back to him and each time he would throw us he would say, “Opa!” In the Macedonian or Greek tradition, the definition is, “an explanation of joy, surprise or a mistake, in Greek culture. It is often heard in celebrations, dancing or when someone makes a mistake, as in dropping a plate.” Some of you may think of going to a Greek restaurant, and when the server brings the flaming cheese, Saganaki, they pour liquor on the cheese and light it. As the flame is lit the server will yell, “Opa!”
“Opa!” Can be head when the server lights the saganaki at a Greek Taverna or while dancing.
Earlier this week, I was looking for some new (new to me) energetic music for a Barre class Thursday-last night. In looking, a newer (to me) Greek artist, Giorgos Alkaios, came up. His music seemed perfect for at least the intro to get the class up and motivated for a high energy workout. Two of his tracks stood out, “S’ Agapao” and “Opa!”. “Yes!” I thought. I decided on “S’ Agapao” for the intro-more on that later-but “Opa” stood out for the reasons described in it’s meaning I described above. I put together the playlist on Monday night and was all set for the Thursday Barre Intensity Class I was teaching at our local health club.
Wednesday morning I woke up, a little before seven o’clock thinking about the fun, but busy day ahead:
-8:30-12:30 The almost two year-old twins would be coming over along with their four year old sister at eight-thirty while their parents did service work. I’d get dinner done while they were playing in the kitchen, Bolognese would be a good choice, I could get that done and then warm up at dinner time later when the older girls were over.
-2:00 My Mom had an appointment I needed to get her to, so I’d be departing to get her there and then back to her house afterwards.
4:00-6:00 The three older granddaughters would be coming over for a dance lesson, play time and dinner.
Oh, and before the twins and four year-old arrived at 8:30, I needed to get to the grocery store and get the garbage out. I laid in bed a little longer thinking about the busy but fun day ahead and thought to myself maybe I over programmed a little for today. Finally, got out of bed, put on my favorite workout skort and T-shirt on and got myself ready for the day ahead, made the Hubby’s chocolate smoothie, took the garbage out and was on my way to Kroger. I thought to myself I am so fortunate, like a few of my friends, who still have a parent/parents around and my grandchildren as well, close by to do things with. So to get me in the mode, I turned on the song that had gotten my attention earlier this week, “Opa!” as I drove to Kroger. I enjoyed it so much, that I put on my headphones as I went through the store to pick up a few items for the Bolognese and the kids lunch and then turned it on again for the drive home. NOW I was in mode to take on the day and all the tasks at hand. Yes, it was an “Opa!” Moment and Day .
I’m sure you have days like this too the days when you added an extra few things to your calendar to help out the people you love and care about. There are times in our life when we do that and it may make for a busier day here and there.
I recall another time in my life when it seemed as if lots of good happened at the same time. I remember my mom went in for a physical. It was determined that she might need open-heart surgery, which was a surprise to us all. She did and they ended up scheduling it couple of days before our daughter got engaged. I remember being at the hospital with my Mom, Dad and brother as she went in for the very long surgery, which we were grateful for and that it was successful. The following day, I moved our son into Texas Christian University, got him settled, flew home and then picked up my Mom from the hospital and spent the first few weeks caring for her and making meals. If you’ve ever cared for for someone following open heart surgery you realize what a miracle it all is. When you see the patient come out of surgery they are so weak. The patient feels just wiped out and tired, and the smallest of actions like eating or going to the bathroom just wipe them out. And then, eventually a few weeks later it all comes together and they really do make that miraculous recovery or at least I have seen that in my mother (and my father-in-law, as well). I was so glad to be there to help, though I felt a little overwhelmed myself at times as I cared for my mother and would occasionally come home to check on my family-I made large quantities of food for everyone. It was a lot to balance, but I’m sure there were many a car rides back-and-forth with music that inspired me to keep going.
Think about the times in your life when you push yourself a little more because you’re motivated to do the job or task at hand. Maybe it’s something like a “ barn building” project that your family undertakes. For us, when I think of that type of a project I think of the purchase of our first house. We bought a fixer-upper. We were standing in the kitchen of that home, once we got possession and the Hubby and I talking about how we had spent all of our savings on this, “piece of crap” and wondering if we had made the right choice. With the help of our and parents, grandparents and siblings, we painted redid the floors installed new carpet and hired carpenter to put in new kitchen cabinets. Three months later when the home was done, our entire family helped us move from our two bedroom apartment with our nine month old baby to our new house. We didn’t even need to hire movers between all of our siblings, parents and grandparents. We did it all. I remember the caravan of us all loading up from the apartment parking lot to the driveway of our new place. It had been a long three months, teaching and then picking up the baby and taking her to the new home as we finished projects, but it was well worth it and to see how our family helped us was absolutely beautiful. Yes, it was an, “Opa!” moment.
Another of those beautiful moments in our life, was the week our daughter got married. All of the events had been planned in the weeks following the engagement, as I was caring for my mother. Sasha and I made everything simple. We made our phone calls made our decisions. It was much easier than I anticipated, everything was in place and ready to go for June. When my mother recovered and was feeling much better, I was able to head back to Florida, where I homeschooled our youngest son for high school and was focusing on tennis. I arrived home the week before the wedding, all the plans were in place, it was time to enjoy the family coming into town and all of the wedding festivities. When I got home, I wondered, should I have come home a week earlier? Well that was too late. I made my list most likely put on some good music and got going. It was a week of lots of fun, lots of excitement and one of our sons made the comment, “Mom this feels like a double Christmas” as we were driving to the church. I was excited to be able to see our first child and only daughter get married and I was grateful that all four of her grandparents were there to see it. Yes, it was an “Opa” moment.
There are the joyous “Opa” moments that push us to be at our best and there are tough “Opa” moments that push us to be and perform at our best. Think of those moments, when we push to complete a project, push to get ourselves or a loved one through an illness or tough time. Maybe you see a close friend or family member go though hardship. You are there to listen, to hold their hand or to be there on the phone all hours of the day and night. It takes time, it takes energy but that’s what we do for those we love. And then, how sweet the moment is when you see them turn the corner of the illness or hardship and they see the light at the end of the tunnel. The phone calls are further apart and the tone of voice is up and not of despair. You (and them) may have wondered if this would happen, and then it does. “Opa!”
Back to that song I used for the warm-up of last night’s Barre class, by Giorgos Alkaios, “S’ Agapao”. The song is about love. The Greek word for love is Agape. The music of this song, with its strong trumpet and harpsichord is catchy. The song tells of the power of love and how strong we love, and that the love stays with us, even when the person is no longer in our life. That’s the power of love. That love propels us to go above and beyond for those we love and care for as we do in those “Opa” moments…Making for many a Great Days ❤️
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