In honour of two years of the Weekend Engagement, this week's prompt was all about the number 2. Amazing how these numbers keep popping up everywhere! But that's for another post.

It was fairly easy for me to choose between these subject.
I can't choose between any two people to travel with in an RV for two months.
I have four kids, and only one is an adult, so I can't really pick two over the others.
However, a promised trip to Las Vegas with the eldest when she turns 21 is on the books...

Two animals? A dragon and a unicorn of course! Duh!
A dragon because, well, it's a dragon, and a unicorn because the dragon needs a wiser friend who keeps him grounded. Unicorns tend to be a bit wiser and less impulsive. Who doesn't want that duo?

But the post I chose to write is one about two songs. Two songs that mean something to me.
If it were up to me, I'd put down pretty much all of the Foo Fighters' songs here but I won't do that. Other songs have meaning to me too.
Of course, the Foo's have to be in it. So I'll start with that!

Source edited in LunaPic

The Foo Fighters: Walk

The song is from the 2011 album 'Wasting Light', so not from one of their earliest albums. I've been a Foo Fan since the beginning, and I can't even begin to tell all the back stories I have behind almost every single song they've made.

There's Everlong, that brings back memories of when I was living in Singapore, with people who have been in my heart ever since. That song would be in memory of them.
But that would be too easy.

So after some soul-searching, I came up with 'Walk'.
The meaning of the song could be seen from the perspective of someone who falls, repeatedly, and keeps getting back up to 'learn to walk again', over and over again.

This has been my life many times over. Many times in my life, I've fallen, and gotten back up to start all over again.
I've left a comfortable life in the Netherlands to travel Japan first, and then parts of South-East Asia. On a Friday I said yes to the job in Tokyo, and on Wednesday I was on the plane.
My first ever flight on a plane, my first ever trip without anyone, and my first ever outside of Europe.
When I went back to the Netherlands, almost three years later, I had to start all over again, and I had left a big chunk of my heart behind.

Then I did it again when I moved to St. Martin, and later the US.
Left everything...again.
With the travel fever in my heart, not to be bound by just one place...I started over, again, and again, and again.
Then for other reasons. Broken promises, broken relationships...
Time and time again I'd leave everything behind, to start new. With only my photos and memories,
and later with my children, photos and memories.

When I heard 'Walk' for the very first time, it resonated with what my life looked like at the time. I was just about to move the whole family from the Netherlands to Ireland.
And now, 11 years after that song moved me so much for the first time, we're here, just 7 months after we've left everything behind in Ireland, to make Mexico our home. Breathing, and WALKING again...

I hope you enjoy the video. It was made as a parody of the movie 'Falling Down' with Michael Douglas.

source

Get Up Stand Up by Bob Marley/ performed by Julian Marley

There are many Reggae songs that I love, and there are many Bob Marley songs that I love, more so than this one.
However, there is a very special memory behind this one that makes me remember it forever.

It was the first time I took my eldest daughter to a Reggae festival. The festival was called
"Reggae Sundance" and was held annually in Eindhoven, about half an hour from where I'm from.
She'd been to local music events with me before but I thought this one was special.
It was August 2004, and she was 3.5 years old, wore camouflage pants, and combat boots, her hair twisted up like Jonathan Davis, the singer of Korn. The works.
Everyone wanted to take a photo with her. She was the coolest girl around!

It had been raining pretty much all weekend. Hence the Sundance hehe.
However, when Julian Marley came onto the stage, the rain stopped, and the sun shone bright, for the first time that whole weekend...
That alone was enough to have people go: 'Oohh, ahhh...'
It was pretty damn special, I tell you.

Then Julian started his own music set, and there was one point where he started with his father's songs. He finished the first, and I heard myself thinking: 'It would be so cool if he'd play "Get up, Stand up.' When the first tunes of the song were played.
Well...Wasn't that something?
Funny enough, it's not my favourite Marley song! However, Julian did an amazing job at it. And I loved every second of it. So did my daughter.

When Julian's time on stage was done, and he left the stage, the sun disappeared, and the rain came back.
It didn't stop during the rest of the day...
Yes, like Bob himself was shining his light down on his son and all of us. Amazing stuff this little coincidence.

But why I chose this song in particular? Well, for the above reasons. My daughter and I at one of the greatest festivals. But the message was one I considered. It couldn't be more suitable than now. I think it's a song we should all listen to carefully, look around us what's going on in the world right now, and take the advice... It's good advice.

So here you go, the original, by the Legend, Bob Marley.

I hope you enjoy it!