Sounds - Describe any sounds that take you back to your childhood. These could be familiar songs, jingles, children playing, or something entirely different.
Hearing Barry Manilow not only brings me back to my childhood, but it takes me to a very happy time in my childhood. A time before my parents' divorce began. My mother would play her "Barry baby" records and clean the house or bake, singing the whole time!
My dad hated Barry...although part of me thinks he only hated him because he was a handsome man with talent that my mother adored...or perhaps just because my mother found enjoyment in his songs. That's just the man my father was and is. Sadly, because of my father's berating of Barry I grew up feeling as though I too did not like "the songs that make the whole world sing". As I matured and entered college I realize upon hearing him once more that not only did I enjoy his music because he was talented, but because it reminded me of a happy time in my childhood.
I took to listening to Barry Manilow quite often through college. I remember a time when my roommate, some other friends and I were sitting in our room listening to Barry, singing aloud and drinking root beer from bottles when our Resident Assistant banged on our door in an attempt to bust us for having alcohol in our room. How foolish she looked! How silly the write-up would have been if we had been boozing it up to Barry! :)
So I've come full circle. I have my own children and I enjoy torturing them with my bad sing-a-longs to "Copacabana" and "Weekend in New England". They don't generally fight with me when I play Barry. They get a laugh out of mommy dancing and singing when she cooks or cleans. While my husband does not share my appreciation for his music, I can say I married a better man than my father because apart from a kind teasing about it, he tolerates it very well!
