Each weekend, I make it a point to reach out to one of my parents, if not both. Some weeks are a miss and I know that’s bound to happen. Life gets busy on both ends of the phone.

This weekend, I had a chance to chat with my father for a few minutes before a friend of his showed up to his workshop, so we had to cut the chat short. I fathom we’ll make up for that this weekend.

Last night, I chatted with my mother for just over an hour and a half. The conversation meandered through a lot of our normal topics — what we’ve both been doing, how we’ve been feeling, and things that have been keeping us entertained. I mentioned to my mother that I make an effort to listen to a new album every day after she started telling me about Django Reinhardt, whom I wasn’t too familiar with. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but in that distant way where you know you’ve heard the name in conversation, but failed to commit it to memory.

She was shocked that I listen to so much music and asked a question, which I found fairly amusing. “Are you allowed to listen to music while you work?” I responded that I am, of course, allowed to listen to music. Working from home predominantly has some perks, after all. When I’m in the office, I am sure to make use of headphones, but at home? Should I remind you I have several stereo setups in my office? Music is really important to me.

So, today, as a treasure and gift from my mother, I have been listening to Pêche à La Mouche on Apple Music. It’s been fun. The sounds are a wonderful background texture for sure, but I will have to take a proper listen on some headphones when I get a chance.

All this to say, it’s amazing to me what you will find out when you spend a few minutes talking to a person. It’s obvious, obviously, but sometimes forgotten. I appreciate where things I don’t know or am not aware of will surface.

So, thanks Mom. I appreciate the music recommendation.