I briefly touched on the idea of listening to the girls
singing in the backseat as we drove.
Back then the words were never right and the tone was off and everything
was slightly off-key. But the harder
they tried the better it was. We
progressed to words are right, tone is good and mostly on-key…but we graduated
to the point where Madison got to this point first. I hope so, she is two years older than her
sister. That being said, this left a
wide open door for her to sing at the top of her lungs. I began to have to ask her to turn down the
volume a bit. I couldn't hear myself
think let alone Sydney at all. Well of
course this graduated again to the point where they started competing at the
top of their lungs. Nothing like hearing
a little Daughtry screaming in your ears.
But we seem to have worked that out too; and though it isn't perfect
harmony, they tend to sing along with the music and more with the music, and
believe me – that is music to my ears.
They both like to see the videos, but mostly they like to
see the videos from YouTube where people add the lyrics; as they like to learn
the songs. It’s pretty cute, and you wouldn't think so until you come around the corner and you see the look of
complete concentration that Sydney has on her face as she sits at the desk,
eyes glued to the monitor, brain absorbing every word – so intense that she doesn't even know you’re there. What follows are the days of singing: alone in
her room, walking through the living room, at the top of her lungs in the
shower, at the kitchen table during meals, or homework, or ….well, any
time. But it can be disconcerting when
she starts singing: “Lover, lover, lover - you don’t treat me no good no more.” What? Or
even better: “Rain makes corn, corn makes whiskey, whiskey makes my baby
feel a little frisky.” Who knew that Country music held so many
landmines! We listen to everything, we
just love music. While we were in Japan
her favorite songs were: “Runaway Train” by Daughtry (he calls it “Breakdown”)
and “The Highwayman.” In fact, when we
returned to the states, until Eric bought his truck we couldn't listen to the
IPod in the car. When we finally heard
the song again, I pull her out of the booster seat and she looks at me and
says: “Wow, I've missed the Hymen song Mom.”
Luckily, Sydney has been training me with her oft times stunning comments,
so No, I didn't drop her. I looked at
Eric, “To think I was worried about the use of the B word that means you have
no parents in the song, I missed THAT part in it!” I looked at Sydney… “Highwayman… Highwayman Sydney.” To which I just get that Sydney shrug and on
we go.
Madison has her radio in her room that played her IPod
Shuffle and also the Touch she has now that her grandparents got her. Any time you walk by her room she is in there
dancing and singing with her radio. “Just
Dance 3” and “Just Dance 4” she’s your girl.
She dances in the car, at the store, at the dinner table at home or out…she’ll
be standing perfectly still and a moment later for no reason and without
warning all of sudden she’ll start busting out with some crazy dance
moves. Her lips are moving, her eyes
have a faraway glint and she’s rocking out; completely oblivious to the surprised
stares of anyone around her.
And then there’s Bradley.
He and his Mom spend a considerable amount of time dancing…just me and
him on our own during the day. Life can’
t be all puzzles and blocks…sometimes you have to have fun too! Turn on Imagine Dragons, “It’s Time” and on
his own, Bradley starts tapping out the rhythm, clapping and patting his legs…so
yeah, that’s one of our new favorite songs!
At night, after some books we turn on music and let him relax to the calmer
music in our ITunes and it’s not unusual to hear Bach and Vivaldi open for
Rascal Flatts or Blake Shelton or Suzy Bogguss.
But I promised the best moments didn't I? So here is one of our best moments:
One of the times when Bradley was really sick, he was
miserable and listless but unable to fall asleep. The girls were home from school and I was
desperate to help Bradley get a nap and feel a little better. So I was on YouTube, pulling up videos just
to keep Bradley occupied and hopefully stop the tears. The girls gathered around us and I switched
to videos with lyrics at their request.
While I sat with Bradley on my lap, I had Madison on one side and Sydney
on the other. I pulled up their favorite
slower songs and they sang them to their brother: “A Thousand Years” and “God
Gave Me You” were the last two they sang with the second finally drifting him
into much needed sleep. It was a perfect moment of peace. It was a perfect gift and I still don’t know
who needed the gift more, Bradley or me…but it Blessed us both.
So do they sing loud or somewhat off-key? Sometimes.
Do they work at driving me crazy on a daily basis…oh yeah, you
betcha! Do they sometimes lose sight of
the fact that they have a little brother and try to ignore him…uh-huh… but they
are 8 and 10 after all. These things
prey on me at times because of the potential negatives they can bring. But I hold onto this memory, this moment in
time when everything was okay and their love for their brother meshed with their
love of music and they gave him just to him because he needed it, and at the
same time gave me the same thing. He won’t
remember the moment, but he will remember the love because these girls can do no
wrong as long as they stay with him…let them walk out of the room and all bets
are off! J
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