The Way You Look Tonight (and all those years ago)

Have you ever thought about the power of your memory? Just think for a minute. Sometimes, we cannot remember what we ate for breakfast or the name of the person we just met, yet, we can recount with great detail memories that happened years ago. I like to think I have a fairly good memory. My grade school friends had a running joke that, when one person would remember simply the fact that we had a sleepover near Valentine's Day, I would remember what everyone was wearing, who slept where in the living room, and exactly what time we went to bed. I can't help it that I have a good memory! (I recently admitted, however, that I did not remember the first time I met my one friend, despite him remembering it in great detail. Needless to say he was a bit hurt. Oops!)

Anyways, have you ever been sitting somewhere, minding your business, maybe drinking a coffee, reading a magazine, or doing homework, and BAM! You smell a particular smell, or hear a song, and you are instantly transported back to a specific memory? It's crazy. You're in the present one moment, and the next it is like you have traveled back in time. Sometimes, it makes me think of those scenes from that old show, "Cold Case." They would investigate cold cases and try to go back to figure out what the victim was experiencing during that particular time. That was a good show....

ANYWAYS. Tuesday evening, I was sitting in the car on my way home for the night. My dad and I were flipping radio stations trying to find something worth listening to when we stumbled upon a station playing, "The Way You Look Tonight" by Frank Sinatra. It was actually a Michael Buble cover of the song, but regardless, that was it. I was instantly sent on a trip down memory lane.

My dad and I used to listen to this song when I was a young girl. He would blast it on the stereo and we would dance around the living room, me standing on his toes. I can still vividly remembering him spinning me around, while I looked up at him in adoration, laughing hysterically.

Fast forward years later, and I am a freshman in high school. My aunt was on the auxiliary committee for the hospital where she worked and had asked me and my cousin if we would like to volunteer at the annual gala they were hosting. This entailed an evening of dressing up, eating a fancy dinner, and assisting people as they collected their silent auction prizes. Of course we said yes! How could we pass up an evening of dressing up?! I can distinctly remember my dress; a simple black sleeveless just-above-the-knee with a lace overlay. It was elegant and beautiful without being over the top. I loved it. We arrived at the hotel where the gala was being held and felt like princesses ( I would have my real princess moment 4 years later, but that's another story). We spent the evening selling raffle tickets and meeting lots of important doctors and such that my aunt work with. When it came time for dinner, we learned we were being seated with the other volunteers for the evening, That was the start of something wonderful.

My cousin and I sat down and were greeted by our charming table-mates; six good looking boys ranging in age from 15 (my age) to 22 (my cousin was 19). The boy seated to my right was particularly handsome. Wearing a black tux with a silver vest and bow tie, his dark brown hair was perfectly messy and when he smiled, his teeth shone like the polished silver at our place settings. We bonded over our mutual hate for mushrooms and the mushroom soup we had been served. He teased me about my distaste for seafood and dared me to try a scallop. Mike and I (that was his name) talked about everything. From school to our hobbies to our families, we laughed and flirted our way through the evening. It was magical.

Eventually, we were summoned to carry out the duties we had been brought in to do; gather the silent auction prizes and distribute them to their respective buyers. While we walked back and forth across the room, we continued to talk and laugh. At one point, there was a lull in the activity, and we could hear the band starting up back in the ballroom. I looked at him, and said, "I love this song!" He grinned at me, reached out his hand and, as any true gentleman would do, said, "will you dance with me?" And we did. In the lobby of the hotel, outside of the ballroom, away from the adults and silent auction prizes, and other people, we swayed, One of his hands on the small of my back, while mine rested on his broad shoulder. My right hand fit just perfectly in his left and we danced. He sang the words quietly under his breath, and I thought I was dreaming. "Someday, when I'm awfully low/when the world is cold/I will feel a glow/just thinking of you/and the way you look tonight."

Mike and I remained friends for about a year and a half. Then, he went away to college and I became busier with high school activities. And, while we only physically spent time together that one, magical, evening, we developed a friendship that lasted much longer. To this day, whenever I hear that song, I am reminded of that magical evening. I close my eyes and can still hear his voice, low and soft in my ear, feel his arm around me, gentle yet firm, and feel the butterflies that fluttered in my stomach as we shared that magical moment. Oh, the power of memory.  

xoxo,
Ciara

Here is our song!