MY LITTLE GIRL

My daughter is a wonder to me. Did I ever tell you that just three nights after her birth, she was sleeping through the night? Once she started, she didn't stop. Now, of course, as a teenager (thirteen), waking her up can be a problem sometimes, but when she is awake, I see life more fully through her than I ever have in myself. I wonder why that is.

So it is with great pride that I am announcing my daughter's next opportunity to sing our national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner, at a basketball game in town. Just last June, she sang it publicly for the first time, and you can read about that here if you aren't already tired of me bragging about my little girl.

She will also be singing a solo for the School Chorus' Christmas concert, "Oh Holy Night"(in a public school? Goodness! What's the ACLU going to say?), which is one of my favorite songs, Christmas or otherwise.

I have to tell you, it is such an amazing thing to watch someone do what they love to do, and I am triply blessed because this is my daughter I am watching. I have always loved a crisp, clear voice reaching heights the rest of us must think hurt to reach. I have always loved listening to music, and the stuff seems to never leave my mind, as I can play tunes inside of my head almost constantly throughout the day. I was once asked why I never listen to the radio when I work. I answered, "Because the music is in my head, and it's commercial free".

I can't explain how much I am looking forward to hearing my daughter sing publicly again. I am excited like a child, waiting for the grown-ups to wake up, so I can open the Christmas presents, this present being the opening of my ears as they are graced with new wine that tastes and sounds better each time it is poured out.

I wish you could be there to hear her. She sings three full octaves, and is reaching into a fourth. Unheard of at her age! And where did she get such a musical gift? I've got news for you. It didn't come from my DNA, nor her mother's. I guess we'll be forced to thank God for this gift after all, because science could never explain it. There isn't even a hint of musical talent anywhere in our family. But that's our good God, calling things into being that are not, or things into being that weren't. Or whatever...

My little girl is growing up, and I love watching her do so.