Tuesday, June 05, 2007

32 Months


So far, throughout our short time together, one activity Lucas and I have enthusiastically shared together is a celebration of dance. Ever since he was a baby we spent time appreciating the rhythm of music. When he couldn't walk or shake his own butt, I would hold him close to my chest and wallow in melody as it drifted from the speakers and settled his little heart to sleep. This was called the dad-walk. Now that he's grown he often calls out to me with determination, "Dado, get on the dance floor", which is the carpet covering the living room floor.

Music has always embraced his aural awareness. Because the power of music is so prevalent in our lives, his growth is entirely influenced by it. When I am contemplating anything in my life I constantly have a soundtrack surrounding my thoughts. I did most of my growth in the eighties and that means that quite a bit of my life was affected by movies and MTV and alternative music. Today, as I deal with the responsibilities of parenthood I find that I feel more comfortable when the right song swells around me and expands on my natural emotions. I think that's a by-product of the celebrity culture that has swamped our lives when entertainment became a massive priority decades ago. We all imagine ourselves as fabulous stars performing in an incredible movie that we are directing.

Lately, since his 3rd birthday approaches, we've started to discuss music lessons for Lucas. One of the aspects of my childhood that I truly miss is the lack of music education. Well, now that Lucas is going to embark on a new musical journey, I have decided to join him. So we are both going to learn the violin. I'm extremely excited and my heart fills with joy when I think about how much we share our love of music with him, which gets me back to my initial point. Lucas has reached the point where he recognizes a lot of music and he already knows what he likes. When he hears a certain song that he likes he immediately runs over to the dance floor and starts to shake his booty. He's even beginning to sing along. It's super fun! So I have no qualms about joining him in this celebration of life.

It's funny how our children make us notice the folly of our inhibitions. I've always felt uncomfortable on the dance floor and usually need a beer or two to loosen up and even that doesn't work sometimes, but to see how much he enjoys our dancing simply makes me wonder what the hell I was thinking all these years. And there's so much more that we stifle within us because we worry about how others may perceive us. It's so nice to see how certain aspects of our nature just need to breathe free and clear. It's refreshing to have such simple burdens lifted from our shoulders. I'm learning a lot from my little boy too.

Anyway, his new favorite song is Huzzah by Witch's Hat. Enjoy!

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