Music and Memories

I love weekends in general but of late I have loved Sundays almost a bit more than Saturdays. They are the one weekend day when we are all together, first of all. Saturdays is my day with the kids while Kirsty is working. We always have a lot of fun and look forward to whatever silly things we have planned after the morning shopping and errands. Regardless of how many errands we need to do, we manage to have fun doing them and always have time for games or something enjoyable in the afternoon. But Sundays have a different tempo. Despite the fact that my kids are always early risers (Lissa seems programmed to waken at quarter to 6 each day and the others are not far behind) it is more relaxed. Maybe not what my friends would consider relaxed as I have friends who routinely sleep till 10 a.m. but relaxed for me!

Recently Kirsty has been able to begin attending church with us again and this too has made our Sundays special. While I was getting KC comfortable with separating from me in church, Kirsty opted to stay home with Elisabeth rather than bring her and try and keep her busy during a service, or having to stay with her in the nursery. I understand her thinking, though if our positions were reversed I would have brought her and kept her in the sanctuary with me. Anyway, that is what has been happening now that KC is comfortable not being joined to my hip. Most weeks he attends his church school class and he has come to love it. He is one of the very youngest children in the room as he is not yet 5 but for the most part he keeps up very well. This has allowed me to work with Lissa, bringing her into the sanctuary and she too has done well. I think Kirsty envisioned her being noisy or disruptive and she typically isn't. I bring crayons and paper and she colors quietly, lies with her head in my lap when she needs a break, and looks at the hymnals. I like bringing my kids to service. It is only an hour and I like the feeling of us all taking that hour out to be together. I like the fact that they grow up having some understanding of how to behave in similar situations. My doing that has emboldened Kirsty to believe that she too could come and sit in the service with us so this Sunday she did just that.

Partly she came because this week we had a guest musician, Joe Jencks. KC announced when he heard this that there was no way he was going to class. He had to hear Joe! He has heard him several times before, we have some of his CD's and we even found him on YouTube one day when KC was antsy and I was desperate for something that would keep him busy! LOL KC also told his mom that she had to come to church with us this week so she could see how amazing Joe is. To date, all she had experienced was the recorded music, never a live performance. With that emphatic endorsement, she opted wisely to come! Both KC and Lissa were with us the whole time. Ironically, because I have been bringing the kids to church, they both tended to leave K alone during the service. They did their usual cuddling in my lap, drawing quietly at my feet etc. Both little heads would pop up instantly though when the music started. Lissa is a bit braver than her brother and she would edge to the end of the pew so she could see better. KC would sit on me or very close to me but attentive throughout.

After the service, he got to meet Joe in person and shake his hand. It was so sweet to see as I have never seen a child more star struck. He was speechless (something he mostly isn't ever nowadays!) and his eyes were as big as saucers. It truly made KC's day though. When we got home the first thing he did was to take out his guitar and try and figure out for himself how Joe played a particular part of one of his songs. It involves sort of hitting the front of the guitar I think in between strummings--I dunno, I am totally musically inept but KC had noted what he did and is determined to replicate. I wonder if he'll figure it out?