A FEW evenings ago I was sitting with my eldest son for some catching-up time. He is away studying in college and was home for the long weekend. We sat together in the living room after a nice dinner checking out the programmes on the television. Then an old song came up during one of those commercial breaks. My son excitedly commented that he liked the song because one of his roommates loved to play it. He started asking us the name of the song, who the singer was and generally, wanted to know more.
I was quite surprised because I didn’t expect a young man like him to care for an old song. He used to listen to the more modern songs when he was staying with us before college.
It was a pleasant surprise because that gave us a nice topic to talk about. So I took out my computer and started to search for the song title. When I found it, I connected the PC to the big screen TV, as well as to our home stereo system. It was a nice setting — my son was smiling at us as he followed the lyrics that came up on screen.
I didn’t stop there. I clicked a few more similar songs from that same page and my son mentioned that he had also heard them before. He seemed to like it. In the end, we ended up spending almost two hours going through old songs. We even sang along together using the lyrics in the music videos. I can tell you that it was one of the best times that my wife and I have had with our eldest son, who is rarely home these days. His college is a couple of hours’ drive away from home.
MEMORY TRIGGERS
Whenever I recall that wonderful time we had spent together I smile. Such is the power of quality time. What made it extra special was recalling those wonderful moments that my wife and I had as we listened to those golden oldies.
It reminds me how priceless good memories are for us. They become even better and more meaningful as we create those memories with the people we love. As parents, we actually have plenty of those opportunities.
Good and melodic songs are just the catalysts. They help us recall the past and put a smile on our faces. No matter how much time has passed, those memories will forever be etched in our minds. No one can take that away. Just like those melodies from yesterday, they have that magical power to soothe hearts and bring back the smiles when things are tough and rough.
REDISCOVER YOURSELF
When the going is tough, we sometimes just have to slow down and leverage on our family again to bring those happy times back into our lives. Sometimes it happens by coincidence, just like how my wife and I experienced it that evening with my son. But I am now planning to have these sessions more regularly. I just need to find the free time.
So, the next time you’re feeling down, tired and demotivated, this might be just the tonic you need to uplift your spirits again. Modern technology has been wonderful to us. We can find the songs that we love easily. With just a few clicks, you are transported back to the time when nothing else mattered.
Along that memory lane, hopefully, you will also find and rediscover your strengths and outlook on life. You may also rediscover traits and criteria that defined who you were. All you need to do after that is to pick these up and put them back on the shelf. It will be a good reminder of your ideals, visions and courage to take on new challenges that you are facing today.