Songs are my Memories

As I believe I have mentioned once or twice before, I love music. Not just for the lyrics, not just for the instruments, not just for the emotions that it portrays so very accurately, but for the way it can bring me back to a certain time, place, or person so easily.

You know how sometimes they use smell therapy for people who have memory loss to try to help them recall memories they may have lost? Music is like that for me. I can hear a song that I didn’t even know I had ever heard before and it can take me back to the time and place where I heard that song.

Also, most songs that I really like I like because they have a specific memory attached to them. Sometimes these memories are happy and nostalgic, other times songs can remind me of times where I was very sad or upset about something, but those are good memories too because I know that I learned something or grew somehow.

But beyond all that, one of the best ways in which songs are my memories is that they remind me of specific people. For most people in my life there is at least one song that reminds me of them specifically. (Heck, there is probably a song that reminds me of you!) I like those songs the best because they always, always make me happy.  There are (and have been) so many people in my life whom I love so dearly and whom I’ve made incredible memories with and hearing songs just bring all those things back to me like a wave of goodness. It’s pretty great.

So thank you music for bringing me back to those amazing times that I hope I will never forget. Here’s to many more!

Idiosyncrasies

We all have them, those peculiar little habits that make us unique. For some people it may be that you hate having certain body parts touch each other; fingertips, ankles, what have you. For some it may be a particular interest in something that others don’t find that interesting at all; rock formations, airplanes, various kinds of tea. Some idiosyncrasies are more obvious than others, being startled easily for instance. Some can be hidden for a long time or simply seem normal until the point where they are forced to change. For some they are secret hidden pleasures that only they know about and appreciate; the driver putting their hand on the passenger seat when backing up, the feeling of putting on socks that just came out of the dryer, the way wet hair looks. There may be certain things that you secretly hate; pictures of anatomy, tiny specks on a mirror, the creaking sounds swings make. Certainly there are some idiosyncrasies that are more common than others, I’m certain quite a few people feel they have to sleep on a certain side of the bed, or pealing an apple in one long strip, etc. A movie that really highlights idiosyncrasies in a great way is Amelie; whenever a new character is introduced the viewer is told a couple of their idiosyncrasies and they are so unique and so wonderful. I think the best part of idiosyncrasies is that they are hidden to most of the people you meet and that only those who really know you know them. This process can take years, I love hearing stories from married couples who have just discovered a new one about their spouse, or when you realize your spouse knows some of the ones you thought you hid so well. That’s the thing about these little habits and behaviors and thoughts, there are so many of them, you may not even know all of your own ones until they are pointed out to you, and there is no reason or rhyme to them. There just fun little discoveries, little insights into people, they don’t necessarily mean anything, and that’s what makes them so fantastic. Because why should everything have to mean something anyway?

(p.s. If you recognize yourself in any of the examples I have given, yes, I may have used you as an inspiration. But don't worry! I like that you are weird and won't tell anyone that it was you :))

You.

This is for you. You are an inspiration to me. There is something about the kindness that just seems to flow from you that makes me wish I could be more like you. It seems like things are lighter when you are around, you know? You can come into a room and suddenly there seem to be more smiles, there is an easiness there, a level of comfort. You find a way of taking things that are mundane and ordinary and spinning them into things that I never want to forget. I can quite honestly say that I hold every memory of you very dear in my heart and there is not a minute that I spent with you that I would want to have spent anywhere else. Even when you are hurt or sad you are still the most giving and forgiving person I know. I have never known you to be hurtful or show anger towards anyone, that’s such a gift. You are a gift. You are kind hearted and talented and I am certain that you can and will succeed in achieving anything that you put your mind to, and yet you are humble and you always pawn off the compliments paid to you. God has blessed you and He has blessed me by letting me have you in my life. Because that’s what you are to me, a blessing, a daily reminder of the good that is in this world and the hope that remains. You are incredible, and even if you don’t think you are making a difference in this world, you are. You are changing everything by simply being who God created you to be, and I love you for it.