Might seem like a bit of a departure for me to be writing about a pop singer, but Whitney's music was a big part of my childhood.
Mum would always have the radio on, and if it wasn't the radio, it would be one of the cassettes playing sent over from my uncle in England. Elton John, Phil Collins, UB40 and Whitney Houston were always singing in our home.
I only have to hear I Wanna Dance with Somebody or Where Do Broken Hearts Go and I'm ten again. Mum's in the kitchen dressed in a yellow galabeya (kaftan) and the three of us are playing 'house' or 'shops'. A hot breeze is blowing through the thick velvet blue curtains in the lounge.
Happy times playing with my sister and brother. Sitting on the balcony eating yoghurt and fruit with my mum after sunset.
It's amazing how a song can immerse us completely in a moment.
I write this and I'm still not sure why I'm feeling a little sad. Is it because the music is a reminder that life passes by so quickly? That we all grow up so fast?
I felt the same with Michael Jackson in 2009. Billie Jean always takes me back to sitting in the back of the car in Kuwait. I see Hardee's (fast-food chain in the Middle East) and I see the Kuwait Towers.
Or is it because the music's a reminder we were all together then, and we're not now? Maybe that's it.
Anyway, mum flies over in just over two weeks' time, and staying for a whole month. So, no reason to feel sad. Just very excited. And then we can bop together to How Will I Know.
I know Luca will join in.
Was Whitney singing when you were a child? What other music takes you back?
