When we arrived at the San Francisco airport two days ago,
the rental car area was a madhouse. All
of the lines were very long, and family members waiting for those in line
filled up the remaining space. People
and luggage were everywhere.
While Bill went through the line, I stood against the wall
near the pay phones with the luggage, which seemed like a good idea since pay
phones are rarely used anymore. Right in
front of me stood a mother with a little girl about 5 or 6 years old. She was guarding the cart loaded with
suitcases, while her husband and older daughter proceeded slowly through the
rental car line.
After I had been there only a couple of minutes, I realized
that the little girl was singing. I
couldn’t catch many of the words, but she had a lovely voice for a little
one. As she sang, she swayed with the
music and waved her arms in the air with her fingers vibrating to the rhythm of
her song. This continued non-stop for
the entire time she waited….close to an hour.
She sang quietly in the very noisy room.
She was not trying to attract attention.
She clearly couldn’t help herself.
Singing came for her as naturally as breathing.
I recognized what she was feeling, because I have felt this
myself. I grew up loving music and not
being able to prevent myself from singing.
I sang when I rode in the car, when I was outdoors playing, or when I
was lying on my bed thinking. As I grew
up, I sang when I was doing housework, driving the car, or painting a room. For those of us who know this feeling, music
allows our very souls to find expression.
Everything we are and feel finds a pathway out through our voices.
My voice is now shaky and unreliable, but I so enjoyed
watching the little girl and being reminded of the pure joy of being able to
express oneself in song.
