If These Walls Could Talk
When I hear Saturday Night Fever, I cannot help but break out my old school disco moves. The band 10,000 Maniacs brings me right back to college, and Neil Diamond has me falling in love with Todd all over again. No need for a Back to the Future DeLorean, music has the power to transport me back in time.
My mother is a collector and would prefer to give away her treasures versus trashing them. Our boys enjoy the hunt of searching through the nooks and crannies of her home and discovering memorabilia. Early on in the Pandemic, we helped my mom clean out her garage and discovered her vinyl record collection. Promising to sort, organize and donate them, Tyler brought her records home. As we flipped through the albums, the memories came flooding back. My grandmother taking me into Boston to see Annie, dancing to the Bee Gees with my cousins on Christmas, Donnie & Marie Osmond at the Cape Cod Melody Tent, and an evening showing of Grease with my father. Imagine my surprise when he tucked me into my Snoopy sheets and gave me the Grease triple record-set. As Tyler began his project, I played many of these songs and it was an instant mood-lifter.
Like many others, our boys have spent most of their time this year working in their bedrooms. Mason enlarged a photo of his favorite view for his bedroom wall so he could start and end his day with that positive site. I framed a photo from our Wyoming vacation and it is a beautiful view as I get ready each day. Tyler covered a wall in our basement with my mother’s album covers, and used the records to decorate his bedroom. As I walk through our home, I am reminded of my first concert or favorite song from middle school, and I cannot help but smile.
I have a college girlfriend who randomly texts me songs that she knows will spur fun memories of our past. My son created a French music playlist for me when I told him about my favorite scene in the movie Something’s Gotta Give. And when my friend who is a spin instructor in town posts her favorite workout tunes, I add them to my exercise routine. Thanks to technology, we can share music as a quick way to brighten someone’s day.
One of the downsides to this unique time period is that we cannot change our scenery with a vacation or a getaway. We can fill our homes with music and make little improvements to our walls that can help us reframe our thoughts going forward.
