A Walk Back in Time

Have you ever been listening to music and all of the sudden you are transported back in time? Some music takes you to those times and places that are so key in your life. Well this morning I went on a little walk back through my life. The vehicle...Loggins and Messina.

Okay lets get this straight first and foremost. L&M are one of the most underrated bands to come out of the 70's. They had the folky thing happening with Kenny Loggins and all of his really memorable ballads. You had the early country rock vibe from Jimmy Messina's time spent in the band Poco. They had the Jam Band thing down way back then with a band of supporting musicians that can span super country to island funk...it really was a remarkable band. 

So I'm listening to their classic live album "On Stage". Now I gotta tell you, this album came out in 1974. By the time Tracey Fenstermaker came into my life, I had that album memorized. It was already ingrained in my life and my mind as the soundtrack to

 the life and love I wanted for my life. So when I met Tracey and found out that she was a huge L&M fan (she'd actually been fortunate enough to see them in concert), well it was as if we were meant to be together. Sometimes it is those little things that make you know you are on the right path.

So this morning I hear the first song..."House at Pooh Corner." Immediately I am transported back to those days before kids and experiencing the growing baby inside my young wife's belly. I remember so well the anticipation and the fear of actually being responsible for another person's life. But that song just made me anticipate the good that was to come. Having the "Little Princess" in our lives changed us both for the better. 

"Danny's Song" was next...it reminds me of waiting for our little boy to come into our lives. Having a beautiful little girl made us so much more  eager for that boy. Even today we wait in eager anticipation for him...it is to call us or email us or just anything to let us know he's alive. But he has been worth the wait.

"You Could Break My Heart" reminds me of those days when we were trying to figure each other out. There were days when it was almost unbearable; those differences and hurts, the difficulties of being so young and so poor. But those days were filled with such bliss as well. Growing up together, discovering life together, deciding to stay together.  

It brings me right to the next song..."Lady of My Heart."  Such assurance that while we were not perfect, we could live together in a loving relationship for the rest of our lives.

"Long Tail Cat" reminds me of our two kids growing up and using the Biblical model of "Iron sharpening Iron" to sort out and define who they were to be. They still know how to push each other's buttons.

Well hey, I could go through the whole album. But you see that music is a placeholder in our lives. It reminds us of where we have come from and the joys and pains of growing up. It also reminds us that no matter how difficult our lives can be, there is so much joy to be had by staying on the path...to keep those relationships fresh and alive. In 30 years I intend to be able to walk and listen to this music, and all the new stuff I gain along the way, and remember back to those wonderful days when we joined our lives together. "People smile and tell me I'm the lucky one" and they are dead right.