Monday, September 25, 2023

Songs and A Trip


I like to sing. Always have. And I sound pretty good, except when I don't. I have a limited range, and sometimes, my voice won't cooperate with what I hear. I wouldn't say I was tone-deaf because I can hear when I'm off. I just can't always correct it, but that doesn't stop me from singing. Just ask Ward or Wally or Theo. 

All of my sisters have nice singing voices. My oldest sister is the best, and she was the leader in teaching us many songs when we were young. It was a time of folksongs, and she learned to play the guitar and sing many. That, along with all of the songs she learned in Girl Scouts, gave her quite a repertoire. The routine would go something like this. We'd eat supper, then my parents would retire to the living room to watch the evening news. We, girls, would then do the dishes. And while we worked, we sang. I loved it. (The singing part, not the dishes part.) We'd also sing in the car. Again enjoyable, but more importantly, it helped with carsickness. While it helped, I wouldn't exactly say that it always worked. But maybe I don't need to go into the details of that just now.

I sang at school, I sang at church, I sang in plays, and now I sing during storytimes. But mostly, I sing to myself. It seems that many things remind me of a song, and I just need to sing a few bars when the one pops into my head. Sometimes, when it's not appropriate to burst into song, I save it for later.

So what song just popped into my head? Leaving on a Jet Plane because of the first line, "All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go..." But the way I'm singing it now is, "All my bags aren't packed, I'm not ready to go..." That's because we're leaving Wednesday morning for a week-long vacation in the Blue Ridge, and we're not ready yet. Of course, we don't have to be ready until Wednesday, so it should be okay, I tell myself when I look at my To Do list.

Where we're staying doesn't have internet, so I don't know if I will be able to check in with you during our trip. But, I'll share our adventures with you when we get back, if for no other reason than this is where I record the main parts of our trips.

Do you like to sing?

Until next time...

P. S. If I'm lucky, I will get Wally and Theo to sing with me on this trip. 



6 comments:

  1. I love to sing and, like you, I am OK at it until I'm not.
    I hope you have a most wonderful trip!

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    1. I used to talk about taking voice lessons, but I think my singing in the shower and around the house voice is good enough. I'm looking forward to the trip.

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  2. What fun to sing with your sisters while doing the dishes! I like to sing and yes, we used to sing on car rides (my mother, step-dad, and I). That's how I learned all the old songs like Whispering Hope (my mother's signature song) and Danny Boy (my step-dad's signature song). I used to sing well, but, these days, according to my daughter, I tend to sing off key! :D

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    1. Rounds were my favorite songs to do with my sisters. Every once in a while we still sing one together.

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  3. I love to sing. My family, growing up, also loved singing, and we sang all the time. My parents were in choir at church and I was so proud when I was allowed to join while I was in middle school. That's how I learned to sing alto--it also coincided with learning to play the flute, so I got good at reading the treble clef (bass clef, not so much). I participated in church choir until a few years ago--it's quite a time commitment and I just don't have the energy for it these days. When my daughter leaves for college next year, I'm considering joining a community choir--I think I'd like both the challenge as well as the opportunity to meet new people. We'll see.

    My husband and kids don't like to sing. Both of my kids are fairly skilled with their band instruments, so they do enjoy music and are musically literate (my husband is probably tone deaf). I miss having people to sing with at home. I tend to sing more when I'm alone (because of the "mom, do you HAVE to sing" comments). Sigh.

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    1. I can occasionally, very occasionally get Ward to sing a round with me. Both of my kids have nice voices, but don't do much more than sing in the shower, although they were both in youth choirs when they were younger. I was also an alto in the church choir and was very good IF I had someone beside me that got the part. Left to my own devices, I would find that I would end up singing the melody instead of the harmony that the altos usually get. :)

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