This is a picture of my, now, four year old son, banging away on his birthday present - a junior set of drums. He FREAKING LOVED THEM.
Now for a bit of back story. Two summers ago I enrolled both the boys in a soccer program. Parker loved it. Loved the outdoors, the running around, the playing with his friends. Loved every aspect of it. Blaine - not so much. I pretty much had to threaten, bribe, beg, plead, bargin and do anything I could to get him to participate. I will say, one week he got stung by a bee on his finger so that pretty much did him in for the rest of the season. Okay, so scratch soccer off the list.
The following fall, I enrolled the boys in a skating program at a local hockey arena. I figured they could get their skating skills down pat, and it would get them ready for hockey. Again, Parker loved it - even though he really wasn't that good at it. He loved the games, the races, the fact he was one of the biggest, he even loved getting his skates laced up. And AGAIN, Blaine - not so much. Okay, strike hockey.
Conversely, I have a USB key that plugs right into my car stereo and at any given time there is about 70 songs loaded up and ready to play. Blaine can name all of them (pretty much). "Mom, play Boom Boom". "Mom, play Ice Ice baby". "Mom can you play walk a million miles?" "Play the Susan song"
He has made up some of his own names for the songs but he knows EXACTLY what song he means and what he wants to hear. That certainly made for interesting car rides - Blaine, what is Boom Boom? And the Susan song?!
As a baby, I would sing to Blaine while I nursed him. Oddly enough, every time I hit a note slightly off key, he would giggle. At first I thought it might be a coincidence so I started throwing notes off on purpose to test the theory. Sure enough, giggles followed. One night, during a rendition of "I'll love you forever" my voice cracked. I guess that was something new to him and quite humorous apparently, because he giggled so hard milk came out his nose! I figured it out then, that this would be my musical baby.
It was probably about 6 months ago that Blaine started asking for drums for his birthday. Paul and I knew that he was musically inclined, but to be sure Paul brought Blaine to the local instrument store. Blaine was like a kid in a candy shop. His body started to shake seeing all those instruments in one place. He didn't know which way to head first - taking a few steps forward and then darting to the right, then the left, then closer to the back of the store, then closer to the front. There was just so much to see, so much to BANG ON! It solidified for us that we WOULD expose him to music and make sure HIS true passions would be nurtured and fed and we would encourage him in any way we could.
We've been told he "should be" on the ice doing hockey. He "should be" doing what we want him to. Uhm, why exactly? Sure he has to listen to Mom and Dad, but why should I pick what passions he has? And even if I wanted to, I can't. We just aren't built that way as humans. There is something inside us that calls us to our passions. It's something that makes us excited when we wake up, and anxious to go to sleep for the next morning. And no one can 'tell' you what that is. You have to find it. Sometimes it's deep in your heart. And sometimes, it just comes out, like Boom Boom, or Susan.
So there you are. Yup, perhaps a bit insane. But I see it more as supportive. Encouraging. LOVING.
I have never seen a boy so giddy for something for his birthday. Batman, Ironman, nurf gun, none of them evoked the response his drums gave him.
And the really funny thing?? He's actually got rhythm and is pretty good!
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