Weekly Writing Challenge: Moved by Music

This prompt called my name right away. Initially I thought it would be a simple post to write but as I thought through what song and thus what memories I wanted to delve into, I realized it was going to be a challenge. Music has always played a large role in my life, ever since I saw The Little Mermaid as a child and realized I could sing. There are many songs that bring back memories and deciding on one was difficult. I might go back and write about another one eventually, but I decided that since my love of music started in my childhood, I would go back to that time.

One of my earliest memories of music as a child isn’t of a specific song, but of a specific artist. When it was time to clean the house, my mom would put on a Keith Green album – on a turntable! – and proceed to clean our little townhouse while singing along to the music. I doubt I was very helpful, but the experience of “helping” and having fun while doing work has stuck with me. I asked my mom once why her Keith Green albums skipped and she told me it was because I would jump around and dance when they were playing, causing the needle to skip and mar the surface. Over 20 years later, any Keith Green song resurrects echoes of a simpler, more carefree time and makes me feel like it’s time to clean the house!

While childhood chores don’t always leave positive memories, these did. I don’t have positive memories of shoveling the driveway, but to this day vacuuming is something I don’t usually mind (even stairs, most of the time). Music still makes chores more fun. I hope that someday, my children have positive memories like these that pop up at the sound of a familiar tune and someday, when my mom is no longer here, the music will still remind me of fun times spent living together.