Tricks that iPods play...

I haven't written here in ages, I know. Music has always been such an important part of my life, and I should write about it more often (whether anybody is out there reading or not). So here goes...a little story about what my latest little iPod is doing to/for me.

I lost a very important person in my life at the beginning of the year. I'm now realizing that I've been grieving about the loss even more than I had expected to.

The person I have lost is my Aunt Blanche, my mother's only sister. I was extremely close to her my entire life. I made a last-minute trip over to the States to see her last December, as it was unlikely she would live along enough for John and I to see her when we make our US trip this year. And it's a good thing I did, because she died only a few weeks after I saw her.

While in Ruidoso, NM, where she was living, I made a pilgrimage to their WalMart for some supplies. And that's when I saw the new generation iPod Nano. It's a teeny little thing. Just right to use during commuting or exercising, I thought. So I bought one and brought it back here to England with me.

I had a song stuck in my head during much of that December American trip. The song was Cee Lo Green's "It's OK". I love that song, and I "soundtracked" it all the time while I was away. I finally decided that my subconscious was trying to tell me that I was doing the right thing to have made the trip.

Now the story in Green's song has nothing at all to do with losing an elderly and beloved relative. But there are some interesting phrases in it, besides the relevant title phrase, like: "I still think of you...", "...until I lost this legendary woman", and "...without you I'm still alone". So the song makes me think of Aunt Blanche...and the tremendous sense of loss I am feeling.

Here's where the little Nano comes in.

Over Christmas, once I was back home, I put together a playlist of about 200 songs to shuffle while I'm on our new treadmill. Those of you who use MP3 players while exercising understand what I did. You put onto your little music machines those songs which have a pace that motivates you to keep going when your body suggests you should stop. I had decided that the little Ruidoso Nano was perfect for use on the treadmill, and one of the songs on that playlist is "It's OK".

And out of those 200+ songs I shuffle when exercising, at least once a week "It's OK" shuffles up...and it always shuffles up as the final song for the treadmill session...no matter how far (or long) I've elected to go that session! It's like a little parting gift for the work I've put in. And it makes me cry, every single time.

Do you suppose that iPods can be haunted?

Janet