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| Our family used the piano from the home where I grew up. It did not look like this. By the time it was at my house, many of the ivories were chipped and there were scratches on the top of the piano and its sides. The stool had finally given way, many years before it came to rest in our small living room. My dad told me I didn't have room for the piano. He was right. Still, I told him I didn't not have room. And thus it came to my house.. |
For me, essential book buying would involve books with pages of musical notation -- lullabies, finger-play songs, folk tunes, The Reader’s Digest Book of Family Songs, Sally Go Round the Sun, Free to be You and Me, My Turn on Earth, Hello Dolly – all of these books laid on the piano book rack or in my tall music case, a tongue and grove piece of furniture that used to be my Grandmother Scoville’s.
No piano rack or piano side tables can hold all of the music that can be collected by a mother who loves singing with her children.
One paragraph here should just go to describing well loved Christmas music at my house.
There are the regular carols, and then the carols from other centuries. I loved all of them. And then the secular Christmas music: "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" and Gayla Peevey's "Are My Ears on Straight". If there is a Christmas song, I am sure I sang it with my children. I would begin half-way through November so that I made it through all of the music.
The children and I sang in groups (that would be me and one other) and sometimes some others and at other times, most all of the family would gather at the piano and sing.
I could always catch a group if I would play “Mack the Knife” from the Threepenny Opera. People would gather from everywhere. Kelvin had a beautiful bass voice so that was an easy buy-in from him. He liked to sing and he was good at it.
My favourite story about singing with my children goes this way. Our family was asked to sing in church. Everyone agreed to sing, but Richard. I told him he didn’t have to sing with us, but he had to practise the song with us. So he did. He even came to the early morning practise that Sunday morning before church, figuring out where everyone would stand, how we would walk up there from the pew, testing out our sound in the chapel, etc. When it was announced that the Johnson Family would sing a number all of us went to the front and Richard just walked the other way, down the isle and out the chapel door. The whole congregation had to have seen that.
I can remember announcing, “Richard won’t be singing with us today.” The audience laughed. Then we sang our song. I was left with an indelible memory which I probably haven’t quite processed yet. I think it is deep admiration for a child who says they won’t be singing and then doesn’t.
As for me, I could never resist a melody and I would have joined my family of origin, singing no matter what the tune.
Arta
You are a very loveable mom, and cousin... I love the way you handled the situation. Jane
ReplyDeleteHi Jane,
ReplyDeleteSometimes my kids back me up against a wall, and I had to place to retreat. This was one of those times. I am sure I have done that to them equally as many times. I hope they will see it as a wash.
As to being a lovable cousin, I have enjoyed our exchanges as adults, mostly through the goodness of Moiya whose home you have stayed in. I have been able to visit you then and it has been fun. I think you and Moiya went to university at the same time. I seem to have fond memories about those times as well.
I can just see little Richard walking out. It makes me smile so. Anyone with teenagers knows a little more. I love the words, "....having raised two teenagers of my own, I have a deep understanding of ingratitude!"
ReplyDeleteI find that when they reach 40 years old, kids begin to thank me for some of the trauma of their past, like having to participate in the Kiwanis Speech Festival. At least some of them think it was a good idea. But Richard has never wished that he had stayed and sung with the family that day. He does however, sing to his children at home. That is enough.
ReplyDeleteARTA, here is a comment for you from Alison Harker-Young:
ReplyDelete"Arta, I am loving reading through your blog posts. I was especially touched by the ones about your Mom and Dad. I remember your Dad. We visited at the lake a few times and we were showed such hospitality! I also remember what a character he was. I have memories of my Grandma Wood speaking with such love about your mother and what a lovely person she was. You music post took me back to one of my favourite moments in high school. The lunch bell rang and an army of us stuffed into three or four cars raced to your home. We opened the door to be enveloped in the mouth watering aroma of of cinnamon buns, a starving teenager’s dream come true!! We ate and ate and ate. They just kept coming! We jumped on the trampoline then topped it off with some singing around that wonderful old piano. I’m not sure if we made it back to school on time or not. Such fun! Thank you, thank you!!
Happy 80 years around the sun!"
Re Alison's comment above, I am VERY CONFIDENT that we did not make it back to school on time (or at least, I am confident that I would have done my best to drag my heels such that we were late).
ReplyDelete