Music

When I'm in sitting in church and my kids are whining for fruit snacks, trying to escape the pew or pulling on my shirt to breast feed, I usually think, "Why am I here?". There are Sundays where I don't hear a word of what's being preached and spend most of the time chasing disruptive kids around like a zoo keeper. But then.... the hymns start and we all join in song. We sing as a congregation words that make me feel so close to God. The melody is usually to a beautiful song that takes me to a peaceful place and most times, my kids even stop to listen and feel the music. It's magical.

Music is my happy place. Music is my outlet. Music pulls up all kinds of deep emotions. Music is what brings life to my soul. Music is a huge part of our family. 

Many of you may already know this, but I grew up in a rock n' roll band with my three sisters. We played all kinds of shows. From coffee shops to little ampatheaters, we spent a huge portion of our childhoods on stage singing and dancing our hearts out, for me, with a bass guitar in hand. My mom was a concert pianist so we also spent time in the Sacramento Youth Symphony where I played cello. Our parents raised and bred us in good music and now we don't only appreciate it, but it truly is a huge part of who we are. I can't clean, drive or even shower without music in the background. 

Scott grew up hating that his mom forced him to practice his piano every day after school. Now, he plays as often as possible, singing lyrics to popular songs he's playing by ear. Scott also taught himself how to play the guitar. He even proposed to me strumming a beautiful melody with words he had written about me. You see, music is part of who he is as well. Thank you to my mother-in-law for the extra push. ;)

While I'm not sure a family band is in the cards, we certainly intend to raise our children in a house flooded with music of all genres. Already Welles loves classic rock and hip hop. Scarlett prefers "girl singers" aka disney princess songs, Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez (in her good old days). And Ames will bounce to any good tune. We spend our mornings listening to pandora or turning on (highly appropriate) music videos. Saturdays and road trips were invented for family dance parties and boy do we get crazy... Scott knows that the best way to get me out of a bad mood is to turn on the 80's channel on pandora. Nothing gets me out of a funk like Pat Benatar, Journey or a little Brian Adams. And when no one is fussing for their preferred tunes, I turn on classical to stimulate our brains and calm us all. 

I simply can't imagine our family or even life without music to get us through it. The good times, the bad, the hard, the emotional and the triumphs all have their tune. Certain artists or songs will remind me of a specific phase of life. For instance, I can't hear the Beatles "woho darlin' please believe me, I'll never do you no wrong" without remembering my dad belting that in the front seat and dedicating it to my mom in the passenger seat. And I certainly cannot hear "mmmmbop" without thinking of my first crush.... Taylor Hanson. I mean, come on! That long hair and raspy yet high pitch voice... Heart flutter! And there is one specific (and private) song that takes me back to our hospital days with Welles. It's a song that pulls back all of those emotions when we learned of his diagnosis. It was a song of mourning, healing and inspiration. 

So many songs are so dear to me because they remind me of my kids and definitely of my husband. Where would we even be without music? It truly drives our family. What drives yours?