I spent and this past weekend at my brother-in-law and sister-in-law’s place in New Jersey for a “cousins weekend.” A day of chilling out with Dave’s cousins, and siblings, and sibling-in-laws, and nieces and nephews, all just hanging around the pool. We do this every year and it’s always a lot of fun.

Music played all day but for the most part no one was really listening to it as people were chatting or flitting about in the pool. But then evening approached and the kids got out of the pool and wandered off to do other kid-like things. The adults continue to sit around the pool relaxing and suddenly the music, a 90s playlist, became more of a point of focus. Then the evening fire pit took place, then relaxing in the porch once the bugs got too bad. The music followed us throughout.

It actually became a prime focus of the whole conversation. Like, “hey, do you remember that one”, and “oh yeah and what about this other one,” and “oh we used to listen to this one while we did blank!!”

It was great and totally inspired Dave and I to create our our playlist when we got home. It’s currently 36 and a half hours long. 😳

And it’s GREAT. We sat and listed for a while the other night and it was like we could close our eyes and immediately be in our 20s again. Almost every artist/song holds some kind of very distinct, very poignant memory with it – Tori, Sarah, Indigo Girls, Toad, Counting Crows, Soul Asylum, and on and on and on.

Some memories are joyful, some fun, some sad, but all powerful. And all rather bittersweet because IT WAS SO LONG AGO. There are things my brain had forgotten all about that just a few notes of the right song can bring rushing back like I’m right there again. And yet, we’re not there, haven’t been for a very long while, and never will be again… people and places and events I dearly miss. Definitely bittersweet.

I’m not sure what took me so long to sit down and create this list. I have other playlists, but nothing else anywhere near so personal or visceral. Whatever the case may be I’m glad I finally took the time (and boy did it take some time) to do it.

What about you? Do you have a favorite playlist or album or something like that that just immediately brings you someplace else?