These are the Days

This morning, I was checking out my sister's blog, in which she basically paid homage to the Indigo Girls. My sister has always been the queen of music in my family and generously shared her love of music through custom-made mixed tapes and mixed CDs. She somehow managed to always make a mixed tape that was fitting to my place in life (no easy feat given that she is quite a bit older than me and lived thousands of miles away during my middle and high school years). These mixed tapes were always aptly named, as well (I had "Melancholia" during my angsty teen years)...and have been the soundtrack for my life through various stages. My baby son even has a mixed CD of lullabies she made for him. Many of my favorite artists I have discovered through the magic of her playlists. So, it was with some humor that I read her most recent post and many of her quoted lyrics brought me back to one of my teenage summers...

My sister was embarking on one of her worldly travels that summer and entrusted me with her vast collection of CDs. This was very generous but probably not too smart if she was intending to return to her complete collection. During that summer, I fell in love with the Indigo Girls (specifically, the Rites of Passage album), Cowboy Junkies, Emmy Lou Harris, and a few others...and I, being of little money, "kept" (to put it nicely) the Rites of Passage CD. I even put my initials on the CD so as to foil anyone who might question its ownership (I doubt I fooled anyone). I still have it to this day. And, I still listen to it.

So, thanks sister...you may have lost a CD in the process but you've introduced me to some of my favorite music, music that has become part of my history. For the record, if you want your CD back, I'll give it to you. :-)