WORDS ON LOVE

Ok, now I want to talk about LOVE. What do I love?

If you asked my mother, she would say I loved everything.
I am her “flower child” because I am always saying “I love that” or “I love…a certain person, food, song, outfit or season”.
You name it, “I LOVE IT”But what do I REALLY love?
More than anything in life?


I guess I could give my first answer, which would be my husband Pete, my daughter Charlotte or my wonderful family.
But that would not be as exciting to you as my second love: MUSIC.

Music has been the backdrop of my life since the day I was born.
I had no choice in this. I was destined to become a HUGE music lover.
At my house, music was always playing. On Saturday mornings, I would wake up listening to my Dad’s music. Sometimes it would be Three Dog Night, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Chicago, other times it would be Carol King, Cat Stevens and John Denver.
He had a HUGE record collection that I secretly coveted and would someday cart off to college.
My dad also sings and plays ukulele. I have such fond memories of family reunions and parties where the sing along would begin after dinner and go long after my bedtime. When my mom kissed me goodnight, I would go sit next to the air vent and listen to their beautiful voices, rich with harmony, climbing up to my bedroom. The final song was always “Good Night Ladies”. My parents had no idea that during these singing sessions, a spark was lit and my life would never be the same.

My grandmother also loved music. I can see us now, sitting in her car, singing at the top of our lungs. This was what we did when we were together. Can you believe that she would actually reach into her huge pocket book, take out her harmonica and play it while we drove down the street singing “When The Saints Go Marching In”? Now, how did she do that?

Singing became a refuge for me as I went through the difficult adolescent years. There is nothing like going into your room, turning on your favorite song and singing your heart out. My secret dream was to become a famous singer like Linda Rondstadt. My aunt Frances also had part in molding my future in singing. She taught me how to harmonize and it became my hobby to make up different harmony parts to songs on the radio.

In high school I put these harmonies in action by joining the chorus and eventually madrigal singers. There were moments when I was so moved by the music and our flawless harmonies between soprano, alto, tenor and bass that I would break down crying. You may think I am a little dramatic – but that is what music does to me, it brings me to my knees. If I hear a children’s choir or Kermit the Frog singing “Rainbow Connection”, you are going to see some tears.I realized the amazing feeling of singing for an audience when performing in my college Spring Musicals. There were moments onstage when everything just clicked: the orchestra was in time with our golden voices and the night was simply magic.

And now I ask myself, why do I love music so much? I love music because it builds bridges between people and makes lasting friendships. It makes a party come alive. It is the soundtrack playing in the background of our lives and the songs soars and swells the moment we fall in love, the instant we say “I do” and the second we see our beautiful child’s face for the very first time. As Pablo Casals writes: “Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart”. Now enough about me…what do YOU love?