Tuesday, February 2, 2016

The Soundtrack of Life

A few weekends ago I experienced a time warp of sorts. It was crazy.

I took my first solo road trip since we've had kids. It was wonderful for many reasons, primarily the fact that I got to my destination in record time due to not having to make frequent bathroom stops for our girls. I traveled a lot with a previous job, so I loved the feeling again of hitting the open road on my own.

Unbeknownst to me, an extra benefit was listening to music that I literally haven't listened to in YEARS. I took along a CD case filled with music I've had since high school and college, some I had bought and some were made by me or for me. After we got married I hardly listened to them because Jesse and I don't exactly have the same musical taste, and I've almost never played them around my girls.

The result? My answer would be: PURE JOY!! There are so many songs I had forgotten about as the years have gone by that when I did hear it again I found myself proclaiming, "Oh my GOODNESS! I LOVE this song!" I proceeded to sing out loud and dance (as best you can in a car) for 6 straight hours Sunday during my return trip. Don't get me wrong, I am well aware how totally idiotic I looked, but I simply just didn't care. My throat was literally sore by the time I got home.

Just a small sampling,,,

The thing that amazed me the most was the fact that it literally sent me into a virtual time warp. No longer was I a wife and mom of two, but certain songs sent me reeling back to whatever time that song reminded me of and I had a rush of emotions, senses, etc., that come with special memories in life. For 6 hours I wasn't a 39 year-old. Allow me to explain with a few songs, musical groups and genres.



I Think We're Alone Now by Tiffany
This was by far the earliest musical memory that popped up. This shot me back to sometime in grade school. It was New Year's Day, and we had our traditional family gathering at my cousin's house. The men watched football all day and we ate A LOT of food. That year my cousin Angie and I were listening to the Top 100 hits of the year. This song came on and Angie and I sang it while making up our own actions to go with the song.

Commence the time warp....It just conjured up a million memories, sounds, and LOVE that encompassed that special Scharf home.

Just Another Manic Monday by the Bangles
This initial time warp sent me back to my high school days playing basketball. One of my friends, Beth (Loftin) Kolb was our basketball manager, and we happened to always sit together on the bus rides to and from games. We would listen to music on the way. This is a song we would listen to for a reason I would rather not say, but it conjured up memories of having to get on a freezing cold bus at night after games....the cold bus seats...trying to find part of your sack lunch left because you were starving after the game...trying to catch a quick nap on the way back but bus seats are not comfortable...you get my drift.

Commence the time warp....I felt I was actually on that bus. It was crazy.

Counting Crows
If you have never been to Summerfest (the world's Largest Music Festival) in Milwaukee, you have to check it out. Sometime after college a bunch of us went to a Counting Crows concert during Summerfest. I listened to a bunch of their songs and...

Commence the time warp...I felt like it was a summer night and I had a Miller Lite in my hand and a smile on my face. Good times with friends are the best.


Counting Crows Concert
Dancing Queen by ABBA
Anyone who knew me during my college years knows this memory.

Commence time warp...The sights and sounds of the Gasthaus in Watertown, WI and whispered promises of, "What happens at the Gasthaus stays at the Gasthaus." Whatever...lesson learned.

Sappy Love Songs
I hate to go here, but I have to because it is/was real. This whole "genre" speaks to the boyfriends past. Ugh. What a dichotomy of feelings...you remember the great times, but what finally socks you in the gut like a rock was that feeling when those good times ended, for whatever reason it may have been. There were probably three breakups that rocked me to the core and were so painful to me.

Commence time warp...I was enveloped with brief flashes of amazing dates, sweet things said...followed shortly after by crushing heartache.

Country Music
I swore up and down that I would NEVER EVER like country music. But, then I went and met someone from Texas, fell in love with and married him and that was the end of that promise. Country music embodies our months dating and the beginning of our life together.

Commence time warp...A wistful smile crept across my face as I was remembering the piece and quiet of sitting on his pier, watching him fish, drinking a beer and remembering the scrumptious taste of eating a torta (a small piece of heaven) while we talked about our future plans.

At Jesse's property on his pier...we loved that place.

There are several others that I could share, but this blog would get ridiculously long, so I'll just end with one final song.

This is the Time of Your Life by Little Steven
This is the time of your life...
You better face it, don't waste it...
Don't think about the future, don't think about the past
There's just this moment, better make it last...
This is the time of your life.


I realized everything I reminisced about on the trip were things that really made me a part of who I am. Part of me missed a lot of those memories, And just like that I was reminded of how great my current soundtrack is as well.

No lie, just as I was relishing reliving my life in songs and not wanting my time warp to end, as I drove across the tracks into New Ulm this song came on. Gone were thoughts of leg warmers and bad hair, long ago family memories and heart aches, athletic endeavors and wedding dances. What songs 10 or 20 years from now will remind me of when I was 39?

None. As I walked through the door into our home my current soundtrack took over. My soundtrack is now filled not with songs, but with laughs, shrieks, cries, some bickering, books being read, "I love you" statements, requests for hugs, squeals of joy...and the list could go on and on. As the girls (and we) age, this soundtrack may have similar songs, but just tuned in a slightly different way. I will relish those times as well and thank God for every single minute of it; past, present and future.

Simply put...one couldn't write a better soundtrack.


How I was welcomed home...love it!






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