What's Life Without A Little Music?

Blogher has provided writing prompts for those participating in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) for the month of November. Today's prompt is about music and whether listening to it influences how you write. My answer? No. No it doesn't. Only because I've just started writing. I haven't actually listened to music and tried to write at the same time. Maybe I'll do that later. However, it DID get me thinking about music in general.

Growing up one of the things I remember was that the house was always filled with music. Some people get up and turn on a pot of coffee first thing in the morning. My parents turned on the radio. No matter where we were, music was always playing. In the backyard, in the car, camping, it was as much a staple of our home as anything else could be. I have distinct memories of certain songs and what we were doing at the time. Opening Christmas presents while listening to Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney's Ebony and Ivory. My dad putting on Weird Al's Eat It in a futile and desperate attempt to get me to eat my dinner. His proclamation that Glenn Frey's The Heat is On was a great driving song while he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. Mom entering my room in the morning , throwing open the curtains, and singing Judy Garland's Good Morning. The house being flooded Christmas morning with Loreena McKennitt's To Drive the Cold Winter Away, in a not so subtle signal that it was time to get up.The house seemed empty if there wasn't music on somehow.

At home I try to make music a part of the kids lives too. During dinner and bath time we listen to different music. Sometimes we listen to reggae, sometimes jazz. Both girls have attended a music class since they were wee tiny things. They absolutely love going. At home we have lots of instruments and sing songs every day. My fourteen month old, Baby K, dances as soon as she hears anything with a rhythm. In fact, when she was a newborn, singing calmed her faster than any other trick in the book. Miss. A even sings the songs she learns at preschool into a marker microphone when she gets home. Mind you, she gets very embarrassed if she catches you watching.

Actually, I suppose that music has affected my writing. It's given me lots of fond memories to draw on and is still a part of my life everyday. I wonder what memories my kids will have when they think back? Hopefully they'll continue to enjoy it and share it with their families too.