Music, music, music

Yesterday I was coming home from work and it was such a pretty day I decided to roll down the windows and turn up the music and just enjoy my ride home. It is funny how the human mind works when it comes to music. There are songs that I cannot listen to without smiling, giggling, crying, or shuddering. Yesterday, a song came on that brought me back to my freshmen year of college. That was a unique year for me. On the one hand I was not really in love with the college I had picked, but I got to spend an entire year with one of my best friends in the whole world. So, yesterday a song came on that we used to sing along with when we went for rides in her blue VW bug. I could not help but grin a little as I sang along last night. Plus, without telling it to, my face automatically formed the same silly smirk that my friend used to make when we sang along to this song. I can still see it in my minds eye and it makes me miss her so much. On the reverse side of that, there is a song that I can never hear with out it making me think of the time my Grandfather passed away. He was very sick and I had to make the four hour drive home from college to try to say goodbye before he was gone. I was alone and this particular song came on by a Christian artist and it had to do with God carrying us through the hard times. It was so appropriate and so comforting it made me cry. Still to this day I have a hard time listening to that song without tears. Still other songs remind me of road trips in college with my New Jersey friends. There are probably 300 or more songs that I automatically tie to those friends of mine. I could not ask for sweeter memories with anyone in the world. I miss them too. Finally, there are songs that Ryan used to sing to me when we were dating. Even though we have been married for 2 1/2 years now, when he sings those songs to me I still get little butterflies like the first time we ever kissed. I love that guy.
The human mind is a mystery to me. I cannot remember my bank account number, the zip code to my house, the last time I had the oil changed...but, give me a song with a memory attached and I can not only sing EVERY word, but I can tell you every memory attached to it.