The other weekend I was puttering around the house and had some music going in the background. Pandora internet radio is my go-to whenever I need music. I looked over at my daughter as she was playing with her toys, and it was like I was looking at myself when I was a young girl. I was captivated by the familiarity of it all. It made me smile, thinking about how I grew up listening to my parents play their vinyl records on our record player. It was a mystery the way the music magically came off of the big record, through the tiny needle, and out of the speakers.

To this day, I still have a fair affection for “Oldies.” The soundtrack of my childhood included songs like “I’m Walkin” by Fats Domino, “The Great Pretender” by The Platters, and “Peggy Sue” by Buddy Holly. My dad used to sing parts of “My Girl” by The Temptations to me. My mom taught me how to do “The Twist” by Chubby Checker and it was so much fun dancing around the living room with her.

A song by Stone Temple Pilots was playing when I came out of my reverie and back into the present. Although Emily wasn’t actively listening to the song as she played with her toys, it made me wonder if the song would stick in the subconscious of her mind. One day, when she is puttering around her house with children of her own playing in the other room, will she reminisce about hearing this band, or Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, American Authors, or some of the other ones that frequently play on my Pandora stations?

That quick flash-back of a moment struck a place in my heart and memory which I had forgotten, and I thought it was worth writing about before I forgot again. I also decided it was worth adding an “Oldies” station to my Pandora radio list so that I can have more opportunities to reminisce on the music of my childhood. Perhaps one day I will teach Emily to do the Twist.