A Mother's Song

When my first child was born, I used to sing to her every night while rocking her in the rocking chair that my mother gave me as a baby shower gift. Sometimes I would sing a familiar lullaby or make up a little tune to hum. As she got older, we continued to rock and sing every night, but she began to choose the songs. One of her favorites was Rain Drops On Roses, and I can’t remember how many times I’ve sung that song over the years. Eventually a brother and sister joined her in the rocking chair, and the tradition of singing a bedtime song continued every night for years and years.

This weekend, our two broody hens hatched out a bunch of very cute, yellow chicks. It was fun to sit and watch the mamas cluck and encourage the chicks, even while the babies were still in the eggs. It almost seemed like a little song that the mamas were singing, and from inside the eggs, we could hear the chicks sing back.

Now that the chicks are two days old, the mama hens takes them out in the yard and show them where to find bugs and grass. But in the evening, she clucks her bedtime song to the chicks, and then all her little masterpieces come running to snuggle under her warm feathers and listen to her song.

When my son was a small boy, one of his favorite bedtime songs was, “You are a Masterpiece” by Sandi Patty, and went it like this:

“Before you had a name or opened up your eyes
Or anyone could recognize your face.
You were being formed so delicate in size
Secluded in God's safe and hidden place.

With your little tiny hands and little tiny feet
And little eyes that shimmer like a pearl
He breathed in you a song and to make it all complete
He brought the masterpiece into the world.

You are a masterpiece
A new creation He has formed
And you're as soft and fresh as a snowy winter morn.
And I'm so glad that God has given you to me
Little Lamb of God, you are a masterpiece.
And now you're growing up your life's a miracle
Everytime I look at you I stand in awe
Because I see in you a reflection of me
And you'll always be my little lamb from God

And as your life goes on each day
How I pray that you will see
Just how much your life has meant to me.

And I'm so proud of you
What else is there to say?
Just be the masterpiece He created you to be.”

I think that maybe I heard our mama chicken singing that very song!

Opera

I never listened to opera music when I was young which is surprising since my mother is a classically trained pianist. We listen to plenty of classical music, and when we were sick, we were allowed to wrap up in a blanket and sit in the living room (which we rarely used) and listen to Peter and the Wolf on the stereo console (which we usually weren’t allowed to touch.) The sick days passed quickly and pleasantly while listening to Peter’s string instruments and Grandfather’s bassoon while the oboe quacked like a duck.

But having children brings new experiences to one’s life, and I have a daughter who loves opera music and has had the opportunity to sing in two operas so far – The Carmen last year, and this year she sang in the La Boheme. And when she is not in the opera, she likes to attend, so we saw Madame Butterfly and La Traviata too. She says that it’s not a real opera unless the heroine dies tragically, which is certainly true of the four operas I’ve seen recently, but the music is beautiful, and the comic relief in La Boheme is quite fun. And to top off the experience, my oldest daughter played violin in the opera orchestra. I may just have to start buying some opera music to listen to the next time we have a sick day!

Suzuki Violin

It’s been a musical weekend! On Saturday, I went with a group of friends to the dress rehearsal of the San Luis Obispo Symphony. The featured violinist was David Kim, a man who I had the pleasure of hearing a couple of years ago. I appreciate the emotion and technique he brings to the pieces he plays, but more than that, I admire the fact that he spends some of his time visiting numerous schools near his home in Philadelphia bringing classical music to children. He is a Christian and a former Suzuki student who gives of himself to benefit others.

On Sunday, I attended (and played piano for) another concert with many Christian Suzuki students who haven’t been playing quite as long as David Kim. The young violinists were students of my daughter, Melissa, who has been investing her life in the lives of young children for over seven years by teaching Suzuki violin lessons. Some of the students were very young and played tiny violins. Others had been playing for several years and were mastering more complex pieces. Parents smiled and snapped photos, and I think that we all knew that more was happening than just songs being played by children. We were watching children grow and blossom. They had been given the gift of music by their parents and teacher, and now they were giving of themselves by sharing their music with us.