There's Been A Lot of Singing At Our House

I’ve always really enjoyed singing, but have always felt pretty self-conscious about it. My dad is a performing, solo-quality singer, and I don’t have that kind of voice. I spent six years in a best-in-our-division-in-the-state jr. high/high school choir being directed by a man who demanded you use the best-sounding voice you could produce. As a result, I spent a lot of years using a cultivated, performance-quality voice. Singing for fun, or in church, or even just along with the radio by myself became a conflicting experience: How good do I have to try to sound, here?

So along came Sophie, and all of a sudden I became a singing machine. All of the parenting books told me to talk to her nonstop to acclimate her to the world of words, but I just couldn’t do it. Somehow it felt more comfortable to sing, so I sang. But I would only sing when it was just Sophie and I. When we were alone, it was like Umbrellas of Cherbourg in our house.

Slowly, over the last year and a half - thanks to daily use - I’ve been finding my own singing voice, my singing confidence, and an enormous, new, pressure-free enjoyment from singing. Sure, I still try to watch my pitch and smooth things out, but I’m not going to melt into the ground if I hit a note that’s not quite right. I’m more than willing to sing in front of Ben now - and frankly in front of just about anyone else if the need arises. My voice is perfectly adequate for the things I want to do with it, and sometimes I can even achieve moments of beauty with it.

In the last couple of weeks Sophie has started singing too. Her very first song was Wheels on the Bus; her lyrics consisted of the phrase “rou an rou” repeated over and over again. Last week, Ben happened to sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” and it has enraptured her. (See video above.) She’s also started requesting her favorite CD, You Are My Little Bird, and even tries to get it off of the shelf by herself. She likes to turn in a circle and clap hands to her favorite song, “Little Bird, Little Bird.” When we sing just about any song, she loves it. Even if we’re just stopping to take a breath mid-verse she wants to hear more: “Again!”

I’m so excited that Sophie is singing - I love hearing her talking/singing/whispering performance style, and the crazy, meandering tunes she makes up.

Talking, laughing, praying, singing: I’m hoping we can make them all feel like the most natural and important things to do with the voices in our house.