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Mistress of the Mix: Summer Love

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Have you ever had one of those moments when you fell in love all over again? Not with your lover (although that did happen to me, and I’m forever grateful that I had the chance to get those butterflies again with the same incredible man), but with your town?

That happened to me recently, and it makes me wonder if I’m the only one, or if any of you have become disenchanted with your community, and then suddenly things clicked into place, and BAM! Butterflies. Ear to ear grin. Total contentment. Pure bliss. I’m in love with Redding, and want to shower its face with kisses.

I find it odd that its the littlest things that can make me fall in – and out – of love with the place I choose to live like the flip of a switch. For me, when the dispatcher who fielded our 911 call asking for help when drug selling squatters took up residence in the house next to mine told me that the police weren’t going to come, I fell out of love immediately. The city I loved so much didn’t love me back. At least that’s what it felt like. The switch in my heart (I’m convinced I have one) flipped off. And it stayed that way for awhile.

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And then I had a moment last week that flipped my switch back on. And again, it was just the simplest moment.

It was Thursday. I was floating in my friend Carey’s pool while she played bartender, bringing out Moscow Mules with fresh mint and fruit. Her husband grilled up sliders, and we feasted on a refreshing arugula and watermelon salad – my new favorite thing. In fact here’s the recipe, courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa:

saladsalad recipe

I digress.

I was surrounded by some of my favorite women; the women that I trust and enjoy. The conversation was delightful and fun. The water was perfect. So perfect.

Then another friend Destiny asked, “Have you heard this?” and played her new favorite song of the summer. And then she played another. And then someone else suggested their new favorite song of summer. Within 30 seconds we were all bopping around like a water aerobics class at the Y. I’ve never felt more 50 than I just did when I imagined what you must be imagining, but I don’t care. You know why? Because I’m in love. And it happened in the blink of an eye. I caught feels for summer. For my friends. For my town. Gave me even more love for my husband, my family and my job. But especially for the place I’ve called home for the past fifteen years.

I didn’t realize it right away. It wasn’t until I was on the drive home. I rolled all the windows down to dry my hair,  and I realized that I was smiling so wide my mouth was open, and I was singing at top volume to another new song on the radio – one that JPR is playing every single day – the one that has become my personal favorite hit of the Summer of Seventeen. (It’s the 2nd song on today’s playlist, “Feel It Still” by a band called Portugal. The Man. More on them and their backstory later, because I have a whole nuther cool story to tell you at a later date that came out of the discovery of this song).

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Something happens to me when I’m in love. People know it. I can’t hide it, nor do I want to. And since that moment I have woken up earlier in the morning, happy to get up and see what the day is going to bring. I brought my car into the Subaru dealership for an oil change, and made a new friend. A picked up the phone at work twice this week and made new friends. Suddenly I love everyone, and everyone’s delightful and pleasant. I even left my phone in the bathroom at Lowe’s, didn’t realize it until I got to Grocery Outlet, and I made a new friend in the parking lot who let me use her phone to call Lowe’s…and I even got my phone back.

Things are just falling into place. And I think it has a lot to do with the love revival I’m experiencing with Redding right now. I think people respond differently to someone who has a genuine smile on their face and is content with themselves and their life, and right now that person is me.

Things are good. Blissful. I feel at peace. And I think it all starts with me and my attitude. And the music of summer. I know I’ve said this a million times, but music has always transported me. If I’m in a bad mood, a kickass song can give me that attitude adjustment I need so badly. I also mark moments of my life by the music I listen to, and if  you were to look through my iTunes playlists, you’d see “Summer of 2008” “Summer of 2009” and now…Summer of Seventeen. All I need to hear is one snippet of a song from any of those collections, and I immediately know which summer that playlist is from, and I’m taken right back to that moment in time, to what I was wearing, what I was doing, and what I was feeling.

Think on that…the songs that made your summers special. But while you’re doing it, hit the play button on the streaming Summer of Seventeen playlist on Spotify, and share your ultimate songs of summer in the comments section below, and the memories they bring back. I know I’m not the only one.

Valerie Ing

Valerie Ing has been the Northern California Program Coordinator for Jefferson Public Radio in Redding for 14 years and can often be found serving as Mistress of Ceremonies at the Cascade Theatre. For her, ultimate satisfaction comes from a perfect segue. She and her husband are parents to a couple of college students and a pair of West Highland Terriers, and Valerie can’t imagine life without them or music. The Mistress of the Mix wakes up every day with a song in her head, she sings in the shower and at the top of her lungs in the car.

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