Do you have rituals or small things that you do that always brighten your mood? What about things that bring out a memory every time? For me, it’s opening the sunroof in my car.
Maybe it is partly to do with living in a place in which I actually know what it feels like when your nose hairs freeze. It feels like I do not get outside during daylight for at least three months every winter. So, when temperatures start to rise and the sun is shining, it lifts everyone’s mood. And it is the perfect time to get the sunroof open.
Getting in the car on a sunny day, rolling down the windows, and cranking open that sunroof is not just about the weather. For me, it is a visceral memory. Every single time I do this, I think about my dad.
My father dreamed for years of owning a Mercedes Benz. The song by Janis Joplin still rings in my head. “Oh, lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz…” It was an anthem in our house.
Then, one day about six months before he died, my father got his Mercedes. He loved the sunroof on his new car. Some of my strongest memories of my dad are in the car with the windows down and the sunroof open and music blaring on the speakers.
Now, thirty years later, both cars that my husband and I own have sunroofs. I could tell you that was a coincidence, but that would be a lie. Having a sunroof in my car gives me a powerful feeling of being loved and watched over.
So today, when I got in my car and opened that sunroof, I sat for a moment and remembered.
Bring on the sunny days so I can open up that sunroof and let the rays of sunshine and love fill me up.
