Memories in Music

So today we have all been greeted by the cold weather with sickness. So me and my two girls have been cuddled up all day inside the house watching a marathon of Christmas movies. For those of you who know me, I am not a huge t.v. person so the accomplishment of watching 5 full movies today is a big deal. So after our fifth movie, I decided to download some new music for my ipod. I have quite different taste in all sorts of music. So I started with some christmas tunes because I am one of those annoying people that start listening to it before Halloween. Then I moved in to some christian gospel and finished with classic artists like George Jones.

He (George Jones) is a favorite for our family and as I played the songs, a flood of childhood memories came to my mind. Now mind you, my mama loves George Jones, but did not have a love of various music like me and my daddy. So as the song of his played, all I could think about was me and my daddy riding in his old yellow ford pick-up truck on the way to ball practice (back when he was my coach) and him singing some of these songs to and from practice. He was a smoker then, so I could almost remember smelling the smoke in the truck and hearing his voice sing the lyrics to the songs. For those of you who know me, I love to talk, but during these times, I would just sing along. Trust me if you would ask either one of us we were as good as any other person singing at the Grand Ole Opry. So our singing would be loud and confident for all to hear. No matter how bad the day was or what was going on, the singing would take over and for those brief moments things were happy and stress free.

I always get amazed at the power of music. The words you sing, hear, and the rhythms that can make any still bottom move are so powerful. Maybe it is because I am a mother, woman, or wife, but it is not uncommon for me to be emotional while riding in a car and hearing various music. One minute I am laughing. The next minute, I am crying. My kids often look at me like you are really losing it now mom, but for me it is those moments my day becomes carefree and my soul searching begins.

I hope my children reflect on the music memories they have with me whether it is us dancing together in the kitchen, our songs of praise in worship service, singing in the shower, or singing while driving in the car. That music is really about life and depending on what note you are on, it will continue to move you.