Music has always been a huge part of my life. I've written before about how there's music tied to every major event in my life, but my relationship with music goes so much deeper. When I was little, my mother often told me the story of the first time she held me after I was born. She would say, "You love music because the first time I held you, I sang to you right away." My first outside contact with my mother was hearing her sing, not speak to me. Who knows? Maybe she's right about that first encounter shaping my love for music......that coupled with the fact that the entire time I was in her belly I was probably listening to her sing to my sister, Melissa, who was only one at the time.
Music permeates my childhood. Many evenings the entire family would gather around the turntable which was built into a cabinet with the TV (do you remember those?) and we would listen to entire albums.....one after another.
My sisters and I would have singing competitions in the bedroom (with ourselves as the judges, so I'm sure you can imagine how that would go) which started when I was in kindergarten. I can still remember us taking turns, signing the same song and then trying to decide who had "won". Even times when I wasn't dubbed the winner I would think to myself, "That's okay.....I know I was the best"!
For birthdays and Christmas, music was a common gift. I've posted this picture before, but notice how I'm not much bigger than the album I'm proudly displaying!
Even our television viewing had a slant towards music.......I don't think I ever missed an episode of the Donny & Marie Show, Sonny & Cher, Tony Orlando.......and, on the weekends at my grandparents, Hee-Haw and Lawrence Welk. All of this worked to give me a broad appreciation of music.
But, my favorite childhood memory of music is everyone singing together when a song we loved would play. Most often, this would happen in the car..........I can close my eyes and imagine it now. Warm, summer day, windows down, wind blowing all around us and there it is......that song, the one we love.....and we're singing! Absolutely one of my favorite things.....still to this day!
And THAT'S where the music takes me!
2 comments:
I do remember those turntables-- my grandparents had one. I love hearing these memories. It gives me hope that one day, Jaxen will say, "Mom, do you remember that Elvis song you used to always sing when I was baby?". Or maybe Jalyn will say, "Mom, do you remember how you used to pick me and we'd dance in the kitchen and sing Anyway?". *sigh* I can only hope.
It will happen, Jess! Of that, I have no doubt!
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