Dear Lyla,
It is now the beginning of November and the air is starting to get crisper as we make our way toward winter. On some mornings as I step on the back porch to let Gigi out I am treated to Jack Frost’s artwork on our arborvitae and the walnut trees. It can be breathtaking, this raw display of nature that the seasons provide for us with indomitable regularity. It is neither the temperature of the air nor the dance of frost on the foliage that has caught my fancy as we begin to embrace the holiday season; it is the music. I love music of any kind, but I especially love holiday music. Your daddy loves music as well little one; I could not have said “I do” if he didn’t. It is this love of melody and rhythm that is responsible for your eclectic tastes; often daddy and I debate the merits of you being able to sing the lyrics to the song “Sheep Go to Heaven; Goats Go to Hell.” I want to remind you at this point the mantra that we have for songs that may be questionable to your teachers and the parents of your peers; “that song is for home or the car only!” Part of me is secretly pleased as punch that the Red Hot Chili Peppers has been a favorite of yours since you were three; part of me is terrified that we have somehow exposed you to such adult music that you are beyond the point of amendment. Daddy and I both agree on one thing; music will be an important and integral part of your life. We disagree on a few things too. For example, I wanted to get you a keyboard and so he got you a drum set. I think that the xylophone is an acceptable instrument for a young child; he bought you an electric guitar. While these are things that I can overlook, there is one contentious point on which daddy and I will never come to terms; the role of Christmas music in everyday life. If I had my druthers we would listen to Christmas music twelve months out of the year and if daddy had his way it would be twelve hours (preferably during the time when we dream of sugar plums). Every year at the beginning of November I ache to begin the festivities of the Christmas season, but I am reminded by daddy and my students that Thanksgiving must be given its due. To dismiss the holiday entirely because I yearn for the familiar melodies of my youth is to miss out on the unique offerings that this traditional day of thanks has to offer. So little one, I made it my mission to seek out a unique and utterly festive Thanksgiving playlist! It has taken me a little over three years to amass a library of songs that can play for four hours with nary a song repeated. The play list is composed largely of classical music with heavy tones and solid rhythms. These melodies are in stark contrast to the light and airy selections that are the hallmark of the Christmas season. The rich sounds of thanks provide context, I think, to the hustle and bustle of December. The anthems of Thanksgiving are reflective, they are stable, they are comforting; and like your daddy’s arms they are designed to make you feel safe and secure. Our lives are very busy little one and sometimes we need to slow down a bit and remember to count our blessings. How marvelous that the gift of music will always be there like an old friend; ready to soothe and calm us when we need it the most.
Letters To Lyla 