Sing Me a Song

As I write this post, IntelliGent is supposed to be napping. Instead, he is singing the alphabet song over and over. Moments ago, I reminded him to be quiet and go to sleep.

I love to hear my son sing. There was a time, not too long ago, that I worried I would never hear his voice raised in song. It seems like a silly worry now as I wait for the silence of sleep to claim him.

IntelliGent has loved music from the womb. I am a trumpeteer. I continued to play trumpet, while expecting IntelliGent, until I could no longer get the air support needed to produce a steady tone. He was always excited at community band practice, doing flips and twists in the womb while I played.

That love for music continued after birth. When IntelliGent was very small, often, the only thing that could console him was singing loud and long. Dr. Dad and I spent a lot of time in song.

When IntelliGent started to talk, he would specifically ask for certain songs to be sung. He has a whole list of favorites, most he's learned in Sunday School. He would smile as I sang, but nothing could convince him to try and sing the song with me.

Then something changed in February. Dr. Dad and I were sitting at the table after dinner singing the songs IntelliGent requested when we tried something different. I held a note, Dr. Dad added to the chord, and out of the blue a sweet little voice added a third note. We were all so shocked and excited that a rediculous amount of clapping ensued.

For some reason, singing that note unlocked whatever was inhibiting IntelliGent from joining the music. Suddenly, he wanted to sing every song we knew.

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The joy of music is evident on my son's face as he sings with me.

I wonder what took him so long, but then I remember. IntelliGent has strong perfectionistic tendencies. He wants to do things exactly right and is acutely aware of his limitations. I believe the perfectionism, couple with his awareness of limitations, is what has caused some of his delays.

My job is to help him learn how to modify his expectations to something more reasonable than perfection. Trust me, it's a full time occupation.