What are some of those songs in your life that when you hear it it just brings you back to another time in your life? Some of mine include:

“The Sign” by Ace of Base brings me back to 3rd grade. I was at my friend Jamie’s house and we were in her basement. I was jumping on one of those personal exercise trampolines. We were blasting this song and singing it along with her older sister.

“I Wanna Love You Forever” by Jessica Simpson reminds of being rejected at the 7th grade dance by a boy I had hoped would dance with me that night. (I didn’t say all music would bring back happy memories!)

“Wonderwall” by Oasis holds so, so many memories for me but I’ll always remember the first. In 11th grade I was sitting in Mark Morrell’s bedroom on the floor and he played this song on his computer. It was the first time I ever really *heard* this song and as I was listening to the lyrics I knew that was how I felt about Mark. And while there is no way I can actually explain it, I knew that Mark felt the same way too. It was a moment where we had a conversation with each other without saying anything. From that moment on, the song instantly became “our song.” It is a very strong and vivid memory for both of us.

“Free” by Zach Brown Band brings me back to our 1 year wedding anniversary road trip as we were driving through the back roads of Alabama with the windows down and music blasting.

I love how music can just transport us to a different time and place entirely. Sometimes it reminds us of fun, joyous moments, like “First Date” by Blink 182 takes me back to my sister’s wedding and the last song of the night. Other songs bring us back to trying seasons of our life, like anything by Linkin Park is reminiscent of the struggles I was having 9th and 10th grade. Music can bring back epic memories and also show us how far we’ve come from certain obstacles in our life.

Here are two playlists that you should go and make immediately after reading this post. These playlists should bring back joyous memories and transport you to a time filled with love, hope, and nostalgia.

Playlist #1: The Wedding Playlist

I’m coming up on 13 years married this year and let me tell you, while I’ve done a lot of work as preserving many memories from my wedding day, it’s inevitable that a LOT will get lost. I’ve found that creating a playlist of all the songs from your wedding day helps bring back some memories and re-live your day. I’m talking about any songs that you may remember getting ready to, walking down the aisle to, your entrance to the reception, formal dances, and all the fun dancing. Every song that you can remember specifically at your wedding, add it to a playlist!

This is best to do right after your wedding before the memories get lost! I didn’t make this play list until about 12 years after my wedding so I have a whopping 19 songs on my playlist. But I still enjoy playing this every July 31st (or any day that I’m feeling wedding-reminiscent!) to refresh my memories on the most incredible day of my life.

Another fun thing that I’ve done to preserve my wedding memories is asking other people what they remember from the day. I’ve asked my family what songs they remember dancing to or what their favorite memories were. I love hearing other people’s perspectives and gives me a more complete, immersive view of the day.

Check out *MY* wedding day playlist here!

Playlist #2: The Concert Playlist

Next time you go to a concert, start a note on your phone where you quickly write down each song that is played that night. I started this in March of this year when Mark and I went to see Vanessa Carlton at the local venue in our town. Mark and I aren’t usually big concert-goers but we’re going to at least 3 this year! We were having such a fun evening that night. We walked down to the venue (loooooove that), I got a White Claw and Mark got a beer and we just sat there and chatted for an hour before the show started. I knew I wanted to remember that moment forever. I wasn’t familiar with all of Vanessa Carlton’s songs and thankfully she told us the name of each song before she played it so I wrote it in a note and then made a Spotify playlist when we got home. Now we can play that playlist whenever we want to go back to that night and remember a great evening together.

I did the same thing this past week when we saw Augustana, also at the local venue in town (Center for the Arts). Now I know I’ll do this for every concert I go to! Mark and I are going to the Goo Goo Dolls concert this summer and I look forward to creating that playlist to remember another wonderful night with my husband.

Our lives are dotted with experiences that form our memories. Our lives are speeding by and one of the only things we can do to control it is add variety to our lives. Investing in different experiences can create a bank of memories. Let’s intentionally add highlights to the reel of our life playing back in our head. So go DO the thing. Take the road trip. Dance at the wedding. Go to a concert. Play table tennis (or pool, or volleyball, or corn hole, or hopscotch or insert your own personal activity here) with your kids. Cook dinner with your partner. Sit down and sketch with your daughter. Go for a run with your son. If music isn’t already naturally part of your activity, add some music to your experience and watch which songs attach to your memories. Maybe you’ll just catch a single song for a single memory. Or maybe you’ll create a playlist of music that will bring you back to a whole evening or season of your life.

If you haven’t had a wedding or concerts aren’t your thing there are still lots of other playlists you could create that bring you back to a specific time: a road trip, vacation, giving birth, running a 5k, movie/tv soundtrack, a night out or in with friends, popular songs when you were in high school and/or college, etc. Start by thinking of a few songs that transport you somewhere else in your mind and go from there. Music will breathe life into your memories. It’ll make your memories stronger and remind you of the rich, experience-filled life you’re living!

Check out some of my other personal favorite playlists or follow me on Spotify:

nutmeg & cloves | mark & i listen to this almost every night sitting on the couch chatting about our days. it’s calm, mellow, and cozy and is perfect background music that feelings warm, inviting, and also inspirational.

worship | my personal favorites when it comes to worship music 🙌🏻

energy booster | this has a WIDE variety of music genres but it’s our go-to pick-me-up when we’re working on house projects or doing chores. it’s got classic rock, country, 90s and 00s pop, a little grunge, it’s all over the place but always lifts my energy!