Gratituesday: Sing, Sing a Song

Music… it can relax; excite; improve memory and learning; decrease heart rate, pulse, and blood pressure; aid in healing; improve plant growth; increase a hen’s egg laying; and improve worker production… and yet, more often than not, we take it for granted.  It’s playing in the background, unnoticeable perhaps… until you walk out of a store and wonder why a certain song is repeating again and again in your mind:  an Ohrworm (earworm), such a wonderful descriptive term from the German language.

I can’t remember a time in my life without music.  I’ve sung in the car, in the shower, in front of a mirror… wherever I happened to be… for as long as I can remember.  But now, as a Mom, the importance of music is becoming even more evident as I watch the boys.  Music is more than a hobby, more than something I love… it is something my kids love, something they learn from, something they NEED… and truly ENJOY!  

Hearing my six year old belt out a couple of lines from a song he’s heard on the local Christian radio station or a Bible verse he learned in AWANA out-of-the-blue while engrossed in play never fails to bring a smile to my face.  Listening to him sing, “English King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215, limiting the King’s… pow-wer!” never ceases to amaze me!  And listening to the Suzuki violin CD playing over and over through the monitor as he falls asleep at night is such a sweet ending to a hectic day.

In our house, we play music while we work, while we play, and while we sleep.  If things are going awry, I need only turn on the radio, and the music works to settle my soul and calm my nerves.  If we need a little mid-day break, we dance to They Might Be Giants, one of Patrick’s favorite groups form college – who are now recording albums for children.  You just try to stand still when Paleontologist is playing!  It’s practically impossible!

So, this Tuesday, I am grateful for the music in my life; for the two little boys who share my love of music; and for my dear husband, who although we don’t always agree on what type of music to listen to, is willing to listen to my favorite tunes, as long as I occasionally listen to his!