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!