The Music in Her

I am breaking my blog silence to post a Proud Mommy moment.  Marissa was selected to be her school's Student of the Month for January!  Her music teacher nominated her, saying she was recognizing Marissa for her "demonstration of responsible behavior by participating in music activities, always being excited to learn new things and tackle new challenges.  She is always excited to learn more about music."

This really comes as no surprise, as we have always known Marissa was born loving music deep down in her heart and soul.  Late in my pregnancy, when she was trying to kick her way out of me, Jeremy would play his acoustic guitar, very lightly and beautifully, with the neck gently resting on my belly.  She would instantly calm down.  Then, we discovered her favorite song when she was about six months old: Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds".  We found when she was super stressed at a doctor's appointment, which she had more than anyone's fair share of in her first 3 1/12 years of life, we could calm her down by playing her favorite songs.  Her Auntie Chelle got her a little pillow with a speaker and plug in for our iPod.  We took that thing everywhere we went for a long time.

Music touches Marissa very deeply.  You know the goose bumps you get and the tears welling up in your eyes when a particularly beautiful piece of music finds its way into your soul?  She was experiencing that as early as a year old.  Every time we played Nickel Creek's "When You Come Back Down", she would start crying.  Not even crying really.  More like heavy, emotional sobs.  She couldn't understand the lyrics; she had that reaction simply because the music was so beautiful to her.  There are a few other songs that cause that emotional reaction in her even today.

She loves to hang around Daddy when he plays his guitar and he looks forward to the time when she can concentrate long enough so he can teach her to play, like his mom taught him.  She is in love with The Indigo Girls' "Power of Two" because it is the song I created an anniversary video around for Jeremy and I and it reminds her that her parents love each other.  She calls it "The Married Song".  She trembles and gasps with intense anticipation when I agree to play videos of her current favorite artist, Katy Perry.  She loves just about all of her parent's music, which is a pretty diverse list.  She headbangs to Five Finger Death Punch and Killswitch Engage, jams The Black Eyed Peas and swoons to Sarah McLachlan.  And, it really goes without saying, but her love of dance is very well noted by all who know her and her moves are legendary!

We have and will continue to foster and encourage Rissa's love of music.  I don't think we will have too tough of a job, considering all the talented musicians we have right in our own family.

"If music be the food of love, play on" ~ William Shakespeare