Starting today, 1/6/2016

http://diaryofafitmommy.com/12-week-no-gym-home-workout-plan/

“Rise to the Top You Can C’Complish It All”

What Kidd Kraddick meant to me...

(The title of this blog will make sense to those who listened to Kidd in the last few months.)

In college, I got into broadcast journalism, inspired by not only the television anchors I grew up watching - Brian Williams, Karen Borta, Mike Snyder, Tracy Rowlett - but also because of a certain radio personality named Kidd Kraddick.

I have heard Kidd Kraddick’s voice, along with those of Big Al Mack and Kellie Rasberry, since I was about nine years old. I grew up in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, so even before the show was syndicated and broadcast across the country I knew who Kidd Kraddick was. Everyone around here knew who he was; the KKITM show has been a staple of this area since the early '90s.

He was one of the most influential voices of my youth and especially in my last few years. I didn’t fully realize it while he was alive, but when you hear someone’s voice every single day they become more like a family member. You don’t even question their presence anymore. You begin to take them for granted.

In the last five years, I grew into an even more avid and devoted listener. My work schedule changed and I had to drive at least an hour to work in the mornings. Instead of listening to music, I’d listen to the KKITM show. It had become even more relatable for me once they added J-Si and Jenna to the show’s cast, since they are both around my age. I felt like I was listening to my family joke around and bicker and make fun of each other. J-Si and Jenna are my cousins, Big Al’s my uncle, Kellie’s my aunt, and Kidd Kraddick was like a father; I honestly did look up to Kidd as that type of man. He was not perfect, but he had the traits I would have liked to have in a father: he was funny, self-deprecating, humble, faithful, friendly, and most importantly, he had a huge heart and loved to make other peoples’ lives better.

He wasn’t a selfish famous person. He definitely could have been. He made a huge success out of a very meager beginning. By expanding the KKITM show across the nation, he opened the door to touch the lives and hearts of more people and especially more children with disabilities. He used his voice and stance in society to do so much good across the nation. Not only did he promote and champion Kidd’s Kids every year for over 20 years, but throughout each year he did contests that gave away money or prizes to people. I realize most radio shows do contests and give away prizes, as promotion for the station. However, on several occasions I heard Kidd up the ante. One time in particular, a woman won a contest at Christmas time, and instead of just giving her the prize of gifts and cards for Walmart (or whatever store), once he found out how down and out she was he paid her rent (it may have been for a year, I don’t remember) as well, so she and her kids could have a roof over their heads for the cold winter months and holidays.

For me, on certain days, the show was literally a saving force. They say laughter is the best medicine, and I strongly believe that. In the last five years I’ve gone through some of the darkest times of my adult life. Job insecurity, questioning my purpose in life, losing a very close family member, and most recently, going through the miscarriage of my first child. There have been days I didn’t want to get out of bed; and worse days when I didn’t want to keep breathing. On my darkest days, even if I couldn’t bring myself to laugh, I could turn on the KKITM show and maybe crack a smile. I could immerse myself in these other peoples’ lives for a while, and turn off my own troubles.

Kidd Kraddick’s familiar voice soothed me and his hilarious antics gave me belly laughs that almost caused me to pull over while driving several times. On the easiest days I still hate getting up and commuting a long way to the office; but I remind myself, if these guys on KKITM can get up at 4 a.m. everyday to wake us up by 6, then I can get up and go too. I listen to the show on mornings I am not even at the office…J-Si’s laugh and Big Al’s “Ga-ga-ga-ga-GOTCHA” bounce off the walls in my living room while I dive into the duties of the day.

One morning about three months ago, while listening to the show, I was suddently struck by this sobering thought: What would I do if this show went away? What will I listen to on my drive? Sure, I can listen to music, but listening to their banter in the mornings makes me laugh and makes the drive go by very quickly. In the mornings, I need something like that to help me wake up and get mentally prepared for the rest of the day. That thought, of course turned into, What will the others do if one person is gone?

For some reason, possibly a slight insight into what was soon to come, I just had this desperate feeling that I needed to listen to every single show, every single bit, and stay with them all through everything.  I have no idea why I had those thoughts and why I felt so sure that I needed to be listening. Even on days I missed the live show, I went back to listen to the KPOD. I literally didn’t miss one show in the past nine months.

The loss of Kidd was devastating to everyone who loved him and his show. I bet 99% of his listeners have similar stories to mine and feel a real, deep, scarring pain from this loss. We were all jolted. It was a shock and we weren’t ready. But, I have come to peace with it at this point. In time, we all will. What must be remembered is that Kidd wouldn’t really want us to keep grieving over him; he would rather we turn our grief into devotion to helping others and continuing to keep his legacy of giving alive.

 “I just had a thought. i know everything is supposed to be perfect and blissful in Heaven...But What if there just happened to be a couple of sick children up there and God needed Kidd to come take care of them?” A quote from Big Al Mack on Facebook

My final thought on this:

Maybe Kidd passed so early because when you are an angel on earth you get to skip the initiation process. He was already part of the club.

Initializing the Happiness & Healing Sequence

Why another blog? I have become underwhelmed and creatively destitute of late. Trying to think about what others want to read and tailoring every sentence to that is exhausting. To the outside world I am a glass-half-full kind of person most of the time; though, on the inside I often doubt and question the “good” in the world. These two conflicting sides of me are always at war. My brain becomes a simmering cauldron of conflicting ideas, each trying to push the others out of the way, the only thing rising to the surface a layer of opaque grease that I can’t see my way through.

That’s why I now have this second blog, The Way of the Future. The original blog, Krista M. McKinney, is still active and will remain as housing for articles, pop culture, relationship advice, etc.

SELF-IMPROVEMENT
In looking closer at myself in the last few months, I have discovered that some of the traits that were special and unique about me haven’t been nourished in the past few years. I’ve decided it is high time for me to start integrating more Happiness and Healing into my life and the lives of those around me.

DANCE LIKE NO ONE IS WATCHING

I started out this journey a couple months ago when I started taking Zumba workout classes. I used to dance when I was younger.  A lot. I loved to dance. I started taking dance at about five years old, continued on to spirit squad in elementary, show choir in junior high and then just danced whenever I could after that. Then, I stopped. I didn’t have much time alone in college and I was somewhat self-conscious. When I finally decided to start zumba I figured I could combine two needs: the need to Dance and the need to get in shape! I always leave Zumba completely worn out, but supremely JOYFUL.

PAY IT FORWARD

When I was a kid and thought about my future I always hoped to achieve the kind of stability where I felt I could then give back to others; not just because we all should; but because I must pay it forward. I still remember the people who helped me along the way throughout my life, in the really lean times. They may not ever fully know how much their help made a difference. They were the candle, throwing a tiny sliver of light on my path when all the other lights were dimming. Don’t ever undervalue the power of the kindness of strangers. Or the kindness of your family. Regardless of what you may consider as obligation, no one HAS to help you.

Doing for others doesn’t only mean helping the homeless or something, although, that is always commendable and needed. Doing for others also means finding ways to better connect with the people already in your own life. Teaching each other new things or learning together. Going to do something they like, with no complaints, and asking about it, simply because they like it and you like them.

I suppose the point of this is that I feel like I have fallen into some bad habits, being selfish and self-centered. I can give excuses for why, and I have a few; however, I think somehow I threw out some of the good with the bad, and shut myself off to some great life experiences. 

I want to embrace life. I want to be a YES person. Even if, like me, you are a little tired of hearing YOLO, the fact remains; as far as we know, You Only Live Once (YOLO). I don’t want my one life to be wasted while I talk about all the things I should have done but didn’t.

How do you want to bring on the happiness and healing?