Another "getting older" moment

I promise, I'll get the last segment of the retreat story up, probably even tonight. But I've realized that my extended run of self-reflection has robbed me of opportunities to post some lighter material, because when I sit down to blog, I feel like I should be doing the heavier stuff, and that can be fairly daunting. It's probably why my posting has been so sporadic recently even though I have plenty to talk about. So, rather than let this one go until I finish my heavier stuff (which, quite frankly may never happen, because I've got more than just the retreat), I'm going to go with it, knowing that at some point the retreat story will get finished.

Anyhow, while I know I'm not "old" in the grand scheme of things, but I am definitely getting older, and I get reminders of that from time to time. One of my biggest wake-up calls on this front came a year or so ago, when I realized how many things I could remember that had happened 20 years or more ago. It hadn't bothered me right when I turned 20 that there were things that had happened 20 years ago that were within my lifetime, because if I couldn't remember them, did they really count? But, by the time I hit 26-27, I couldn't escape that anymore.

This week's reminder is in that mold. As I remind you frequently, I like country music, and its what I listen to at work. My folks, particularly my Dad, have always had at least some sort of connection with country (its hard not to growing up in rural southcentral PA), but when I was around 7 or 8, there was definitely a stronger connection there - particularly with Randy Travis. I remember that we had a couple of his tapes in the car that would play rather frequently.

All of this is to say, this week, as I was listening to the radio, I heard Carrie Underwood's new single for the first time. It sounded really familiar, and then it hit me - it was a cover of "I Told You So", originally sung by none other than Randy Travis. Now, it's in no way uncommon for a contemporary artist to cover a classic song, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time that I've been aware of someone covering a "classic" that I can remember hearing when it was new. It's another one of those experiences I'd have gladly been willing to put off for another decade or so.

Now, admittedly, this probably didn't sting as much as it could have, because, while I remember the song from when it was new, it's still more of a song from my parent's generation than from mine. I wasn't really making my own musical selections yet at age 8. I'm sure it will be much less pleasant for me 20 years from now, when someone is covering a "classic" tune by Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, etc. Of course, I just realized that by writing this, I've made sure my parents are aware of the existance of this cover, speeding along the very experience I'm dreading...

Sorry Mom and Dad. Love you!