As the days get shorter and chillier, the month of October starts to draw me inward like an internal warm glow of a lighthouse.  It feels good to put on my autumn sweater and cozy socks, to indulge in a spicy warm tea and to listen to the music that makes me more reflective.  This morning I am listening to the sweet jazzy sound of Ain’t Nobody’s Business by Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis, a collaboration introduced to me by my son.   Samuel is an old soul in a 16 year old

Two years after my Dad died, I wrote a song that reflected my deep sense of loss.  Enough time had passed that I felt comforted by these thoughts instead of completely gutted by them.  The song wrapped me in an embrace with his essence.  After singing it, I felt like we had spent some time together.   I was grateful for the tears that wet my cheeks, as I had been fearing that I was losing my connection to him as time went by.  The song and the tears were tangible proof that h

Wild yips and howls of coyotes wake me from under my down comforter in the early hours of a summer morning in the mountains.  Their song is a secret opera not meant for my ears.  I feel lucky to hear the strange tones and rhythms of the night.   I am like the child who has slipped behind a curtain at a party, unnoticed.  The eerie aria of the song dogs  remind me of  Ophelia just as she is finally breaking.  I want to surrender my own voice to this song that crosses an unseen

“Just as Jesus is the head of the church, the man is the head of the household,” the Fijian minister thundered over our heads as we stood on the alter of the white washed church.  Dressed in traditional Fijian wedding cloth made from the bark of a mulberry tree, Dave and I stood side by side, sweating.    I squeezed his hand with just the right amount of tension to convey an alarmed, “what!?”  His face betrayed nothing, but I felt a double squeeze back letting me know he was

My Dad used to sing Buddy Holly songs as he drove. As a teenager, I was both mortified and amused by his singing. He sang as we drove...

I love this study ! It is what we have always known. Babies love to hear the voices of those they love singing to them. I don't think it...