Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Reminiscing

Part I
February 23 would have been the 27th anniversary of our "first date." (I put this in quotes because I'm not sure you could call it a real date--he crashed a swap and asked me to dance. ;-) We were pretty much together forever after...except for a few roller coaster months early in our marriage. Although we haven't really celebrated it in quite a few years, we always remembered the date and counted it as the official beginning of our relationship. We were 19...one of the things I loved was that we had such a long, shared history together...we could quip a line or situation from a movie we saw 20 years ago and the other one would know exactly what we were talking about. We had so many common old friends and shared experiences--and so much of it was filled with laughter. (Of course, over the course of 27 years, we had our share of tears too.) I hardly know where to begin again without him. I know that I must begin to figure this out, but maybe later...

Part II
On a lighter note...
Sometime last year, Todd and I had started playing this game where we would play songs on the computer and the other person would have to try and remember the title and who sang it...we mostly did 70s and 80s music and we laughed and laughed at the fun memories these songs brought back and at how it can drive you crazy to KNOW something but not know it (if you know what I mean? ;-) Some nights we went easy on each other--just wanting to stir up the funny or fond memories, but some nights it was cut-throat.

I love the way music reminds you of certain places and times in your life. MTV had just launched when we started college in 1981. I can remember how we sat and watched for hours -- of course, it was much tamer and gentler then and the videos by today's slick standards were so "low-budget." (I sound just like a grown-up, don't I?--rhetorical question that does not require a response ;-) I still enjoy occasionally flipping through my album collection--there is something sentimental about an album vs. a CD (or 8-track tape ;-) I know many people "of my age" feel this way. Todd and I had only one in common when we merged our collections--The Best of Earth, Wind and Fire Vol. 1. I find it interesting that although we had common taste in music, we only had one duplicate. If I were to flip through I would find Bruce Springsteen, Motels, Boston, Fleetwood Mac, ELO. Chicago, Murrah Singers ;-), Rolling Stones, Dan Fogelberg, Todd Rundgren, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Journey, The Police, Prince, ZZ Top, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Huey Lewis and the News, 38 Special and a bunch more I won't take time to list. It makes me smile to look back over this list because each name evokes a memory (or memories) of the more carefree days of highschool and college. What do you have in your album collection that makes you smile?

10 comments:

  1. It's funny to read this post about music and your history with Todd. Ben and I don't share a whole lot of musical tastes or history. Ours is very much defined by regional experiences. (lemme just confirm: prep school in Massachusetts is a VERY different experience from Mississippi public schools). It's so hard to think that 19 was 27 years ago (say what???). But I do remember the college years, sharing a house together and Todd hanging out. Helping you address wedding invitations. And I remember those hard first months of marriage. And how impressed I was with your fortitude.

    There were a lot of good times and tons of fond memories. How lucky are we?

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  2. Oh, thank you Nikki. You are right...lots of good times and tons of fond memories. Your post made my insides happy. Susan

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  3. When Ed and I first started dating, line dancing and "boot scootin" were in so it's mostly country songs that make my heart smile when I think of us. "Keeper of the Stars" by Tracy Byrd is our song. Here's a link if you're interested. http://popup.lala.com/popup/504684655013707236

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  4. "The Dance" by Garth Brooks. If you don't have the words or know the song by heart, FIND IT! Most awsome song ever written.

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  5. I love that song too. I used to cry like a baby any time I saw the video for that song.

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  6. I meant to add that I have thought of the lyrics to that song on more than one occassion since August 2. Thanks for reminding us about it.

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  7. I made Alan a CD for our most recent anniversary (22) with songs significant to us throughout our years together (some of the artists names are not coming right to my mind) including Red,Red Wine, Faith (George Michael), Sara (Jefferson Starship), White Lines, Hot for Teacher (Van Halen), Baby Got Back, Enter Sandman(Metallica), and Black Hole Sun, to name a few. I know that's a strange list but....He really liked it, and of course I made a copy for myself with my favorite song I Don't Want to Fall in Love by Jane Child right at the beginning! Jen S.

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  8. Our song is "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison....it is amazing how a song can bring you back 20 years in an instant.....I can even remember the outfit I was wearing!

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  9. When John and I were married, we couldn't get an organist for the wedding, which was on Labor Day weekend. Instead, John made a tape of songs that reminded us of each other. My favorite, which I had always wanted to play during my wedding (if I had one) was "True Companion," by Mark Cohn (he's the one who did "Walkin' in Memphis"). John included one he said made him think of me called, "Beautiful in My Eyes," by Joshua Raddision. I surprised John once for our anniversary by taking him to Nashville to hear Joshua Raddison. Also, on a different note, Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Live On" was played at my son, Rob's, funeral. It always reminds me of him, and that makes me smile.

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  10. Are those that we love truly ever gone? We can see them in the tapestry of life around us. The small actions of people who remind us of those quirks - little dances when he was happy, laughs when something was funny, his crazy expressions when he was surprised, or in the actions your children who picked up and mimic his mannerisms. If we look hard enough, we find that he will never be gone because he is part of each and every one of us.

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