Magic & Memories

George Winston: December – Full Album

Sometimes it’s a feel, smell or sight of something that brings back a rush of memories and emotions…and sometimes it’s a song, music or, in this case, an album. For me, that magical album is ‘December’, an album of piano solos by George Winston. No matter the time of year, this album makes me stop, lean in to listen, feel my heart rate slow, letting a sense of calm, peace and serenity envelop me.

And then the memories slowly start to come back, of cradling my newborn baby boys and feeling oddly dislocated, sleep deprived and trying to ease the discomfort of a hungry little one, while knowing the last thing this little person in my loving care needed was a ‘stressed’ mom. And then someone (I don’t remember who but they must have been an angel) introduced me to this album and to this day, for me, its pure magic. Thirty years later, each time I play it I feel love and loved. The kind of pure transcendent love I felt when holding each of my newborns for the first time. The power of this kind of love is unexplainable, very real and filled me up in a way I never could have possibly imagined. I wanted to hold on tight to each swaddled bundle of newborn life in my arms, listen and feel every note, savouring each and every moment. While listening to this album during those newborn moments, I never wanted the music to stop.

And the same goes for today, almost thirty years later.