I Found My Mom's CD.

I'm having a music day, I guess. I have a whole bunch of CDs I need to manually enter into iTunes, unless I can figure a way to copy them that recognizes the file names. Whatever.

But one I didn't want to wait on. I found my mother's memorial CD. When we had her funeral, nine years ago now, I had the sense to pick 15 songs I think represented her life and love of music. I'm listening to it now and I'm just welling up with emotion, just really remembering her. But in a good way.

I personally picked all the songs, and I'm really enjoying listening to them now. Some of these, my mother would just belt out whenever she could, and she had such a beautiful voice. Really. I was told that, just three weeks before she died, she was at her brother's funeral and sang a song that left shivers in everyone at the church. That's my mom. She always regretted not seeking a career in singing.

So it made sense to me to make a memorial CD and give it to all the family and her closest friends. I know many people still listen to the CD often. My brother has it playing when I visit, sometimes.

But... I've listened to it less than maybe 5 or 10 times since her death.

I found it yesterday, and I read the little blurb I wrote about Mom under the track listings and promised I would listen to it today and celebrate, not mourn her. And I'm just loving it. The tracks:

1. The Rose - Bette Midler
2. The Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Midler
3. Love Rescue Me - U2
4. Imagine - John Lennon
5. MLK - U2
6. Chariots of Fire - Vangelis
7. I'm Calling You - Jevetta Steele
8. Blue Moon Revisited - Cowboy Junkies
9. Greensleaves - Loreena McKennitt
10. Everybody Hurts - REM
11. Blowin' in the Wind - Joan Baez
12. Mummer's Dance - Loreena McKennitt
13. I Will Never Be The Same - Melissa Etheridge
14. I Will Remember You - Sarah McLachlan
15. Rainmaker - The Power of One soundtrack's opening number

A couple obvious ones in there, but some nice surprises, too. Listening to them today, I can almost hear her singing along. Nice.

Well, back to my domestic goddess duties. Loving the music of late, though. Good thing.