Joyful Noise

While waiting not-quite-patiently for her favorite show to come on, Puddin' asked me to play "concert" with her. She claimed the keyboard and I brought out my djembe. We ran through a song straight out of Puddin's imagination and then she started ordering me around.

"I'm the leader of this church." (Stan and I are both highly involved in music at our church so that's the context Puddin' knows for live music.)
"Puddin, I want to make decisions about the music too."
"Well, we can both be the leaders."

Puddin' tried a wide variety of keyboard sounds while I banged away on the djembe. Puddin' told me I was probably going to hurt my drum but was pleasantly surprised to hear me say that drums are meant for hitting and loud noises. From that point on, Puddin' drummed.

We tried every percussion instrument in our collection, including the vintage marching drum that lives at our house, courtesy of Papa.

Eventually, I moved to guitar when Puddin' started requesting recognizable songs. When we got to "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," the key I played was higher than Puddin' is used to singing. She sang in her usual range, then cocked her head to the side and tried a different key. She tried yet another and gave me a quizzical look. I modeled the correct key and she joined in merrily, keeping time with the shakers all the while.

As a musical mama, I love seeing my darling take chances with music. As a proud mama, I'm creating mental pictures of what her career in music will look like. Mostly, though, I'm grateful for company in my drum circle today. Thanks for playing with me today, smooch. And thanks to all of you, for letting me brag just a little. Sometimes it's hard to hold all the wonderful inside.