I had an emotional experience on Christmas Eve that involved two of my children singing. My daughter was born singing and has never stopped but my son hasn’t tried to sing in over 5 years and I have been sad that it seems to be something he no longer cares about. On Christmas eve we were all sitting around the living room singing carols and I asked my daughter to do a solo number. She chose to sing “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”, a song that she performed for a school concert when she was only 5 years old. Her beautiful delivery of the song and all of the memories of her as a little girl that were tied to it made everyone in the room suddenly still. It was one of those magical moments when many hearts are joined together in one thought. I cried as I played the piano, so grateful for the wonderful gift of song she possesses and moved beyond expectation. The other moment came later that evening when my 18 year old son agreed to sing a song as well. It was been many years since I have heard him sing and I wondered if he might have forgotten how. Growing up, he was singing in public from the time he was 3 years old and had always done solos in school and for concerts and musical theatre shows up until around Grade 7 when he suddenly stopped, embarrassed to do it any more in front of others. Hearing him sing was something I truly missed. He chose to do “Auld Lang Syne” and sang it so beautifully, everyone again was completely spell bound. I was so happy he still remembered how to sing and it reminded me that truly, it is never too late for someone to begin again from where they left off. Raw talent never goes away, it merely lays dormant until it is awakened again.
Is there is anyone in your life who used to sing and doesn’t do it anymore? encourage them to start again. I have many students who are rediscovering how much joy they used to get from singing and are so grateful to be doing it again.
Here’s to a wonderful 2013!