Yesterday on the drive home I had the windows rolled down. It was sunny outside and the radio was blaring. At times like that I feel hopeful, free from the day's worries. The stress of the work day is gone and the anticipation of a relaxing evening excites me.I flipped through the presets on my radio and couldn't find anything to suit my mood. I finally resorted to the collection of cd's sitting in the console. As I rifled through them to find just the right one, I saw the bright blue case standing out. Pearl Jam it was. I slid the shiny disc out of the case and pushed it into the cd player.As the sound washed over me I knew I made the correct choice. A flood of emotions came rushing through with each note that passed. This was exactly what I needed. The music took me back and I suddenly knew why I needed it today.Even though this particular cd wasn't released until May of last year, the tracks were leaked on the internet a couple of months before. The day I returned to work after my brother-in-law's funeral, I downloaded the first of the leaked tracks. In the weeks that followed I ended up with the remaining tracks from the still-to-be-released album and burned a cd.Every day after work, I climbed into my car, popped that cd in and blared it all the way home. There was something comforting about the lyrics, guitar licks, and the familiar voice. At a time when my world had been turned upside down it gave me something to look forward to. It was early Spring - a time for new beginnings and healing.