My very best memories from my childhood are of my mom singing. She was always singing and she sang beautifully. She still sings all the time and I love it. There was constantly music in our house. I would come home from school and she would have the windows open and music going and be singing and serving up a yummy after school "sussy". Some of the favorites were The Carpenters, Captain and Tenielle, Dolly Parton, Anne Murray, & John Denver. But that smell of the windows being open in a house...I love it. Anytime I smell it, it triggers that memory.
I guess I grew up thinking that was the norm...that every one's mom was a cheerful-singing-sussy-making-delight of a mom. I know that is not true and it makes me all the more thankful for my mom. She was a stay-at-home mom and what a gift to my sisters and me! No matter what was going on, she was singing and cheerful. To this day, I have never seen my parents fight. I know they must have, they just never did it in front of us. I heard that "fighting in front of your children changes who they will become". What a great example my parents set!
Our favorite song was Anne Murray's version of "You Are My Sunshine". It was on a children's tape that we got when I was about 5 or so. We listened to that tape hundreds of times. To this day, when we write an email or card to each other, we sign it "Y.A.M.S.".
I recently made a cd of all of those old favorites and have listened to them over and over. I noticed one day when I was singing Dolly's "9 to 5" (don't judge...it's catchy!) James was laughing. Was he laughing at my singing? At the song? At my snappy dance moves? I hope the poor child isn't scarred.
Anyways, I pray that I can, like my mom, have a cheerful heart (Proverbs 15:13, 15:15) and fill James' life with happiness, security, love, singing, and sussies.
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