Music of Our Lives

I made another playlist today.  As I was scrolling through my music library, it was like looking through a photo album.  My music tells a story.  The most recent songs include one I enjoyed from church, some John Denver songs that have been turned into books (which I bought for Christmas), and that APT song by Rose and Bruno Mars that is on all FB reels right now.

Next comes an album and several singles by Lauren Daigle because I went to her concert.  Then I have the fourth Mockingjay Soundtrack because I ate up that music before I even heard it (the book made me want to watch the movie just so I could hear the music).  I can’t tell you why I have Diana DeGarmo’s I believe and a couple of songs from Jesus Christ Superstar after that.

The next song is another from FB Reels: Adele’s Rolling in the Deep. Another inspiration from FB is a girl I assume is Irish called Aimee Carty.  I snagged each song available on iTunes, lamenting that one wasn’t available.  Now I am embarrassed to say that the next is yet another FB song about feelings by Heidi Rojas.

And on it goes, telling my story as I see an album by Peter, Paul, & Mary I got for my students last year.  I also have a whole album of international music because we did a unit where we virtually traveled the world.  I have some story albums and a Mr. Rogers album to help the girls with their first long trip out of the state.

I remember when I reignited my love for 90s country music with a Judds album and Goodbye Earl. Then I saw tons of 80s songs because for my birthday we hosted an 80s-themed murder party. Christmas music follows the 80s; that makes sense because I’m a January baby.

I continued scrolling to find instrumental music because the awesome teacher conference we attended to begin the 23-24 year had a speaker who told us to have music going all the time. So I have lots and lots and lots of classical and instrumental music.  Hymns galore.

These big themes are punctuated by songs like ‘Mother’ (Meghan Trainor); ‘Surfin’ U.S.A. (The Beach Boys); ‘Raspberry Beret’ (Prince); ‘Christ Be Magnified’ (Cody Carnes); or ‘Classical Gas’ (Mason Williams) because…why not?  Actually, I remember that I got the Beach Boys for a fun PE activity for my class.  They took turns sliding gymnastic mats across the gym.

I have the Hamilton soundtrack, which accompanied me while I prepped my class the previous year.  I have Hap Palmer because someone said he was cool for kids. I got Jim Gill’s albums because he was the speaker at the previous year’s training and he and his music are awesome. Going further back I find the music my husband and I danced to for that little bitty sliver of time when we were nearly retired empty nesters and took up ballroom dancing—we performed at the state fair!

On and on it goes—the chronicles of my days in music.  I can see music from my first job in the new state, what I downloaded for the drive halfway across the country, the music I listened to when I worked at the church in California, the favorite songs of our beloved and deeply missed first foster girl…

It’s a beautiful thing.  What’s in your music library?