The Music in Me - Part I
My son and I were lying in bed a few months ago, chatting softly as he tried to fall asleep. I don’t have any superpowers, Mama, he lamented. Perhaps brought on by a recent viewing of Spider-Man. I snuggled him and gave him the usual talking points about our own personal gifts, special and unique talents, etc. and thought that the ensuing silence meant that he was drifting off to sleep. But he responded after a few minutes of apparent contemplation. Actually, I do have a superpower. Really? I was genuinely curious to know what it was. Mama, I can turn anything into music. He did fall asleep after that, and I teared up - everything makes me tear up when I’m snuggling that little boy. But I mean, even on a poetic level, it was so beautiful. He really, truly makes me experience life differently. But that he used music as the medium of expression, something that has been so central to my life for so long. I was left speechless in the dark, soft little snores beside me.
My first summer job was a questionable role telemarketing for a carpet cleaning service. I was 14, and the generally pathetic nature of what we were doing and pitching did not deter me - I was determined to save up for a Sony stereo system for my room that I wanted to buy myself. I did it by the end of the summer, and spent hours running speaker wires around my bedroom to find the perfect sound balance.
I took that system with me to university, going through the same exercise of balancing the speakers in every new dorm room over the years. When I moved abroad for internships and couldn’t bring it, I sacrificed luggage space for a massive Case Logic binder full of CDs to play on a compact disc player (as I type this out, I realize that some people might now think they’ve landed on a historical fiction blog).
In renovating our current home, high quality speakers throughout many areas of the house were a priority for me and I spent many days with the technicians determining locations and balance. And yes, the kitchen often turns into my own personal music venue when I’m cooking, the rest of the household knows that they can either join in or retreat.
For me, music is truly a superpower. I sing and play piano well enough, mostly to bring myself joy, but am in awe of those who take these talents to the next level and create something out of nothing that endures, shifts moods and emotions, serves as the soundtrack for people’s memories and lives. But I think it’s also a superpower to hear the music in the silences, in the real sounds of life without background noise or ambient sounds as distraction. Creating and hearing that magic music at home is something I wasn’t very tuned into when I was younger, and I’m hearing it more as I grow older and grow into my life at home with my children. There are definitely days I need to sit in my own silence to think a few basic and coherent thoughts (anyone else ready for back to school??). But I like to think that our children have been given the superpowers we need the most, if we’re quiet enough to hear them. For me, they have turned a life that was often a lonely journey set to a vast soundtrack into one filled with magic music that often only I can hear. No speakers required.
