On The Radio.

When I bought my car last January, it came with a free trial of XM radio. A month before the trial ended, I got a special offer to extend for six months for $25. When that six months was over, it was going to cost over $200 to keep the subscription. So I canceled.

A couple of weeks ago, I stupidly answered a phone call from an unknown number. It was XM radio, offering another 6 months for $25. I wanted to be stubborn, I wanted to say no, but…but…

I didn’t.

And I don’t know how I had XM radio for nine months and didn’t know about Channel 33–First Wave. It’s my adolescence in audio form. Yet every now and then I hear a song that twists my stomach into knots, and I can’t help but simultaneously sigh, smile, and tear up a little.

If my 31 Days of Music series proved anything, it’s that music in my life is strongly tied to memory. So Channel 33 is a blessing and a curse–with every song I am transported to moments of bliss, but I can just as quickly be transported to moments of agony. But I’m grateful for either journey, because I’m pretty sure it means I’ve had a good life.

(And I am grateful for XM radio, as shallow as that might seem. It’s pretty awesome.)

Today’s blergy gratitude post brought to you by this song, which I heard right before piano lessons. Bad timing.