O: Organ Oblivion

"Is there room for me, kitty?"

My family is a music-loving family. We play the radio, CD’s, cassette tapes, and records like they are going out of style. My children are growing up surrounded by music from the 40’s to today, as well as classical music--similar to how I did. My family has always had a solid appreciation of a variety of music and I’m happy to be passing on that love to my own children. I don’t know how to play an instrument yet, but one day, I plan to resume my guitar lessons. Maybe my children and I can all learn together because they’ve also shown an interest in learning the guitar (as well as other instruments).

For now, I have passed on the electric organ that my grandmother had given to me and my brother when we were still kids. I remember spending hours just making a joyful noise, trying to figure out songs, or making up my own. I thought that my children would enjoy it, too. Plus, I reasoned that it would be a wonderful way to nurture their musical interests even further.

I forgot one small thing though: that electric organ doesn’t have a volume button. And oh, is that organ loud and obnoxious! Of course, my kids love the thing to death. They are forever asking me if they can play it. Each time I am torn between my desire to encourage my children’s love of music and my fantasies of all the ways I can destroy that monstrosity. My love for my children wins in the end (except on days when I have a headache), but I find myself still trying to find somewhere--anywhere--to hide from the electric organ when it is in use.

I attempted to show my kids how to play it beautifully or at least tolerably. After a few demonstrations, my daughter is doing a little better. My son, however, enjoys making the organ screech and howl. (I know who will be doing our Halloween sound effects this year!) The more obnoxious and horrible he can make it sound, the better he likes it. Yes, boys will be boys. I’ll let him get his kicks from seeing how badly he can play.

But eventually, if he is anything like me (and I know he is), he will tire of making noise and long to make music again. It’s in our genes--in our blood--and he won’t be able to resist it for very long. Until then, I will be grimacing and cowering here in organ oblivion, waiting patiently until sanity returns to me again!

When Mommy Grows Up...

The sky is the limit!

As part of a school project, my kids and I have been talking a lot lately about what they might want to be when they grow up. My son wants to design vac trucks (the bigger the better!), drive a school bus, and play guitar and keyboard in a band. My daughter, also on the band kick, wants to be a rock star, as well as design clothes and be a cook at a restaurant. It is so refreshing to see their youthful, innocent enthusiasm! For them, the possibilities are truly endless.

And then, my daughter innocently asked me this week, “What you wanna be when you grow up, Mommy?”

Laying aside the fact that I’m already an adult and thus have been ‘grown up’ for quite some time, I gave it some thought. I remember when I was a little girl I had a huge list of things I wanted to accomplish by the time I was 30:

• Publish a book
• Become an astronaut and jump on the moon
• Train to be the NFL’s first female quarterback and win a Super Bowl
• Dig up a new species of dinosaur
• Build a machine that could turn Monopoly money into real money
• Design and build unique houses for famous people
• Become a singer/songwriter/rockin’ guitarist
• Develop super powers and fight crime

With my twenties winding down, let’s just say I’m falling a little short here on the life goals! Publish a book? Well, I’m getting close with this one…if only I could finish one novel, instead of starting a new one every few months. My astronaut ambition? With the NASA cuts and the physical strain of the training, it’s not going to happen…unless I write it into my book, of course.

NFL’s first female quarterback? Again, the physical strain would kill me…if the opposing team didn’t do it first. A dinosaur archaeological discovery? Hey, this could still happen someday, just not before I’m 30. Building a Monopoly money converter? It’s a lucrative idea but quite illegal (hello, money counterfeiting!).

An architect for the famous? I doubt it, but I still hope to design my dream house someday. A music career? Nope, that’s not going to happen either…although the songwriter part is still plausible. And my super hero dreams? Um, this one is probably the most unlikely out of all of them (read ‘virtually impossible’ here)…unless of course, I get so rich from my books and songs that I can hire a team of scientists to make me Iron Woman.

All kidding aside, I think I’ve made progress, but my life goals are still evolving. Perhaps we never do actually grow up in this sense, no matter how old we get. Life is all about changing, growing, and reinventing ourselves. What is important to us now may only be a distant memory tomorrow. I think what I want my children to learn the most from their school project is how important it is for them (1) to find the things they love, (2) to keep dreaming big, and (3) to never be afraid to start a new dream.

Mavericks Maniacs

My family is a family of music lovers.  My childhood was FULL of music.  I remember my parents had piles of records.  We would have evenings just for playing records and dancing and singing until we were out of breath!  My parents used to play guitar together, too.  Country, rock and roll, classic rock, folk, and a lot of things in between, they were the soundtrack to my childhood.  I grew up knowing and appreciating great music, and I’m thankful even today that my parents shared their love of music so freely!

Now that I have children of my own, I have passed that passion to my son and daughter.  When they were babies I sang them traditional lullabies, but I also sang all of my favorite songs to them, too.  I noticed right away that my kids had their own distinct musical tastes, and they still do.  My daughter was wooed by Dean Martin as a newborn baby.  My son shrieked and screamed every time I played a Ray Charles song.  My now 5-year-old princess is a soul lover, while my 6-year-old son is my blooming rock star.

Although my kids and I are all a little different, we all share a common deep love of my favorite band, the Mavericks.  I can play anything sung by Raul Malo, the Maverick’s lead singer, and my kids get a huge smile on their faces and start dancing like there’s now tomorrow!  I can play the same song every day, several times a day, and they still ask for just ONE more time.  If you don’t believe me that we are all a bunch of Mavericks maniacs just yet, let me add that my kids have decided to take our family’s Disney World fund (their allowances) and change it to the Maverick’s concert fund.  What young child picks a band over Disney World?!  My music-loving children, that’s who!

I give my kids the room to be individuals and to dream their own dreams.  But I can’t deny that I find it cute and satisfying to know they share my love for the Mavericks.  I’m a strong believer in the family that dances and sings together stays together.  No matter how difficult life may get, we have our common loves and joys to fall back on.  Great music is good for the soul, and I hope that as my children grow older, they never forget that!

Just Jammin', Mommy!

As an avid music lover, I have surrounded my children with a vast array of music since before birth.  Country, swing, jazz, soul, classical, rock n roll, folk, Latin, Celtic, and gospel, my kids have embraced them all--and then some--enjoying them all without little regard to what is popular or where the boundaries lie.

Now that my son and daughter are getting older and realizing the endless possibilities of the future, they have been taking about starting a band with some of their cousins and friends.  My daughter (nearly 5) is set on becoming a singer and learning to play the guitar.  My son (6) is also determined to play the guitar but recently decided he should master the keyboard and drums, too.

One day, last February, both of my kids were gathered in my daughter’s bedroom, discussing their band plans.  They gathered all of their toy instruments: 2 guitars, 2 keyboards, a drum pad set, and a vast assortment of flutes, slide whistles, and percussion instruments.  They were so eager to get their band started.