Thursday, May 04, 2006

Better than singing in the shower

I've found a hidden benefit to life with a baby: unrestrained singing in public.

I enjoy singing. Sadly for me and anyone within earshot, I have a terrible voice. I love to sing along with the radio, but due to my vocal limitations, I avoid singing in front of other people. Singing when alone in the car, yes; karaoke, no. (The exeption is honky-tonk country music, which allows me to put on a "bad" voice appropriate to the music and pretend to just be hamming it up. Oh, and rap, but my bad memory makes it kind of difficult to keep that up.)

Even if I had a good voice, I am not sure I'd feel comfortable singing on the street. Despite being a "live and let live" liberal (and someone who has broken mainstream conventions such as not shaving my legs in college), I am kind of a weenie and easily embarrassed about social conventions like singing in public places.

But now singing in public is part of my daily routine. Ada and I take walks daily, and with her strapped to my back, I sing to entertain her between sightings of dogs, cats or children. Granted, I am mostly singing "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Red, Red Robin". But sing I do, proudly.

8 comments:

  1. I can actually sing - but I never do karaoke.

    I'm so glad you are singing to her regardless of your voice. If anything else, it's great for her soul.

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  2. last night i sang happy birthday to one of my students. her comment? "thank god you can dance." whatever! guess what? i'm gonna sing to her next year too. little brat! :)

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  3. I burst into song during a break in one of my lectures last month. I was still at the lectern; the lecture hall was still mostly full:

    (quietly)
    "I love you
    A bushel and a peck
    A bushel and a peck
    And a hug around the neck
    A hug around the neck
    And a barrel and a heap
    A barrel and a heap and I'm talkin' in my sleep about yoooouuuuuu..."
    (loudly, high-pitched)
    "ABOUT YOOOOUUUUU..."

    Nice. Helps maintain the illusion of authority.

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  4. 2bad - I KNOW THAT SONG! thanks for the laugh. i just sang it to the hubby! he left the room.

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  5. I'm guilty of the same crime, except I don't know any songs as exoitic as Red, Red Robin or the bushel and a peck song! I sing Christmas carols all year round for Madeline, I must admit ...

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  6. I am not a good singer but my girls think I am. We sing everynight as part of their bedtime ritual. Our current favorites: Inchworm, The Very Thought of You, and Blackbird.

    I once started singing at the bus stop until I realized this guy had been standing behind me for awhile waiting for the bus. That was fun.

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  7. Yes! I find that it also allows me to talk to myself without those pesky stares.

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  8. I so know what you mean. I always think about how nobody would dare sneer at my bad singing when a baby is involved (lest they incur my motherly wrath..lol)

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