A breath of Fresh Aire

Today, I woke up, looked outside at the gloomy, rainy day, and decided it was a Mannheim Steamroller day! Just seeing that kind of day, so common in the spring in Minnesota, where I grew up, threw me back in time. I felt for a moment like I would turn around and be in our house in the country, with its seafoam green siding, large lilac bush, and tree swing.  I decided to start by playing out of my Mannheim piano book, which has select pieces from albums 5, 6, and 7 of Fresh Aire.  I reveled in the music, and gloried in the soreness it produced in my arms from not practicing in a while. :) But I'm a mom, and many other things, and I couldn't really just sit at the piano all day. But what to do? Ahh, my electronic music collection!

I went into my music player and made a new playlist of Fresh Aire albums 2-7 (don't have number one... Family? Ideas?)  As soon as it came on, I could remember lying on my aged lace comforter on my lopsided double bed, in my pink room with the two-toned pink shag carpet and large orange dresser, reading The Secret Garden, Jane Eyre and Little Women. Or playing with my barbies, or dolls, or whatever I did in  my room, because I spent a lot of time there!

Isn't it amazing the power of music in evoking memories? One strain, and you can remember almost anything, from your first day of school, to your high school boyfriends/girlfriends, to your wedding dance, to just the feeling of your mother's love.  It's comforting to know that whenever I'm missing someone, or something, all I have to do is find the music that recalls it to my memory.

But we must also be careful, as inappropriate music choices can damage or stain memories forever.

Music is power. And with great power, comes great responsibility.