Beginnings

Music is powerful.   A few strains of a melody have the magic to transport us back to another time in our lives.

My soundtrack is as vast and varied as the emotions the tunes evoke.  From Bye Bye Bye which takes me to a silly concert with an old friend while Don't Blink has me driving away from the hospital after watching my dad slip away.  Dave Matthews and Crash sends me to my in-laws' living room, with Nick, my then boyfriend, pulling out his guitar and playing the song he learned for me, then to our first dance together as we started our new life.  The miraculous melody of Good Morning Beautiful will always give me a sigh of relief, just like it did when it stopped our colicky baby from screaming and Toby Keith's Red Solo Cup will forever remind me of my little wild child belting it out in the kitchen as she was preparing "to party."

No matter what the song is, sometimes you hear it right when you need it.

I was recently visiting in the hospital when I heard the tinkling strains of a lullaby.  It had been quiet in the room while my mom slept, and without the boisterous rhapsody of my usual evening, my mind was wandering.  Instantly a smile crept across my face while I recalled the euphoria of seeing my babies for the first time after the months of waiting and hours of labor.

Then, I thought about the proud parents, one floor down, holding their precious son or daughter.  Gazing into the eyes of absolute innocence, a new beginning, a story yet to unfold.

The first few moments of life are magical.  In the peaceful minutes when time seems to hold its breath, and the world does not intrude, you find both an end and a start.  It's the end of a mystery, finally meeting someone you have loved long before you even knew they existed.   It's the beginning for this miracle, breathing new life into your world and theirs.

No matter what amazing moments I have experienced in life, nothing has been more breathtaking and inspiring than these beginnings, the start of each child's new adventure.

As the strains softly subsided, I thought about how much my own children have grown since their birth days.  The years have flown by faster than I had ever expected.  Even though my oldest is beginning trade in her "babyish toys" for nail polish and fashion, I love that she still asks me to sing her lullabies at night, that for now, she too still cherishes the music of her beginning and I can't help but wonder where it is that the tune takes her while I sing her to sleep.