You are never too old to learn to enjoy something new. Never dismiss something as not being for you, not your type of thing, not something you do! wear, read or eat. Never say that’s not for me. Never at any age, for such joy comes from trying lots of new and different things.
When I was sixty last year my eldest son very kindly brought me an Ipod Nano you know, the tiny headphones you see tucked in the ears of many young people, and runners alike. He was asked by some “what are you buying your Mum for this special birthday” and his friends were quite surprised at his choice of gift, saying that they “didn’t think this was quite the gift for a sixty year old” Well, being as astute as he is, and knowing his Mother’s taste well, my Son decided that this was just the right gift for me. I have always loved music, all of my life, from the very early days when, with my precious one shilling and sixpence, approx. 8p of today’s money, I would purchase in a high street Woolworth’s, a small Embassy record of my choice and sometimes the odd lipstick! I would then play the chosen record till it warped, on a very poor record player, that always got hot after just a few turns! Still my love of music never wavered. Not just ‘Pop’, just about everything – Jazz, Country, Opera, and the’ Blues’ – I was never far from away from music, dancing my way through life, and later with a little radio tuned into the London Music Stations and then in the seventies, my precious collection of cassettes, in my little Beetle Car with the said Son singing away in the back.
But now Oh! the joy of this Ipod, to be able to ‘download’ all my most favourite tunes from so many years, to be able to add hundreds of specially selected songs, that have meant so much to me. Reminding me of the places and times when I heard them first – to be able to hear just every single word clearly, every lovely note – and to be able to listen to all the latest music and keep up with some of the music my sons enjoy and now, so do I.
Most of my readers know my husband is fighting the most dreadful disease Multiple Myeloma see: http://www.susiehemingway.blogspot.com and he spends many hours resting. So no longer do I have to be concerned about disturbing him. When things are rough and some days they are, waiting for hours in hospital clinics, or dealing with something I would rather not be doing, out comes my trusty ‘Ipod’. It never lets me down with it’s clarity of sound and special memories. I revisit places and times and relive clearly the many nights spent dancing under the stars,when on our travels in the Middle East. Songs when the children were young and we would all sing together. If you can, please try one, don’t dismiss it as some modern gadget belonging only to the young and not really for you. Make your collection, take yourself back and recreate your special times through music .
Although I miss the phone ringing and door bell quite often! what great exercise it is, to be able to dance around each day and drift off to sleep at night listening to my favourite songs, attached to this very special gift indeed… thank you, lovely Man – Joy Oh! Joy.
