Music to my ears

These days organized chaos is just an understatement. Soccer season starting, volleyball is my preteen's choice this year and music is how my baby is coping with her schedule change from the summer.

I recall my parents telling me as a child that I would benefit from music and piano was going channel my inner genius. Dad would always encourage us to be our best. And, say "Are you going to be the first woman president?" And, "Miss Universe"? How about a lawyer?  Talk about setting the bar high. I remember struggling to meet my parents expectations. They got good grades, excelled in their careers and their second career after immigrating to a foreign land. How courageous they were...they forged for their growing family and housed their extended family. And. They rose high. They created a wealth of assets...then as hard as they worked to earn it. They lost it. All of it! By the time my parents were my age, they had 4 children, filed for bankruptcy and lost all their properties. We moved from a quiet suburb neighborhood  and a house with a decent square footage to the heart of the city of Angels. What a culture shock it was for me and my brothers. I had music and drill team... my saving grace. It kept me out of trouble. It kept me focused from my ADD/dyslexic (self diagnosed).

Today is no different. I wake up to listening to music. I play it in the car on the way to school. It is on my drive home and I love to hear my daughter sing. She has a raw talent that I wished I had as a child. My other daughter plays the piano by ear and loves to play without having me nagging her. My newborn responds to my lullabies with my own lyrics. There is a difference in how I parent but this early introduction my parents planted in me is something I have given as a gift to my children.

There are studies of how important  music is to the mental development in newborns and children. But, our education system has failed our children by budget cuts and taking away music programs. If only every child of every socioeconomic  status would have available to them the ability to learn an instrument, sing in a choir, dance and perform in theater, would we have less students bullying or less suicides?  I deduct we would have more confident kids who are willing to focus on strong core values of team work, accountability, and leadership. 

http://m.mic.com/articles/108022/science-just-discovered-something-amazing-about-what-childhood-piano-lessons-did-to-you

There are nonprofits and funding  available to those in need. Here are a few resources in the Los Angeles and Inland Empire areas.

• http://heartofla.org/arts/music
• http://culturela.org/musicla/
• http://fendermuseum.com/