The Power of a Mother's Voice....

How I Finally Got Over My Embarrassment of Singing Out Loud at Music Together Class
by Sarah L.

My third child is now enrolled in Music Together, which means I've been attending for at least three years now. But it wasn't until thisMarch that I really started moving and grooving and singing out loud in class.
One day in early March, my 3-year-old daughter provoked, and was bitten on the face by a 145 lb. dog. The resulting injury was serious enough that she was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance and underwent plastic surgery that night.
The surgeon was reluctant to put her under general anesthesia, and so he chose a drug called Katamine. Chemically almost identical to LSD,the proper dose could knock her into a painless, unaware state, but apparently could also induce frightening nightmares during the procedure. Studies had shown, said the surgeon, that a mother's voice singing to her child could prevent a child from going to such dark places with their mind under the influence of Ketamine.
So I agreed to stand next to her for the entire surgery and continuously sing happy lullabies to her. What else am I going to do? Say, "Well, actually Doctor, I have a horrible voice and can't sing in tune if my life depended on it."? My daughter's life, a little bit, did depend on it. And so I sang.
First it was more of a whisper, with my lips about an inch from her ear. But it didn't take long for me to snap out of it and realize that the better I sang, the better her chances of avoiding a horrible, scary mental state. I was singing to connect with my child, not to impress a surgical team. The point was to focus on the joy Icould bring to her life, not the embarrassment I could bring to mine.
Over an hour later, when I took a bathroom break, the lead surgeon actually said, "I'm going to miss your singing. Hurry on back!"
Now music class is looser, more fun, more joyful, and a much better experience for my child, because I'm focused on my connection with her, not on some silly ego trip. I don't want her to learn thatcelebrating with music is something that should be source of anxiety; I want her to learn to love it.