Stress in B Flat

One of my favorite things about the holiday season is the music. While I enjoy listening to Christmas music, I particularly enjoy singing Christmas music. Unfortunately, my ward hopping activities this year have prevented me from singing in my ward choir. I know, I know. It's my own fault! But, my sisters offered me a great opportunity to sing some Christmas music today . . . in two different sacrament meetings no less! I think the last time all four of us sang together was when I was leaving on my mission 5 1/2 years ago. It was definitely a memorable experience.

Imagine, if you will, the four of us singing a song in sacrament meeting the week before I go into the MTC. I should remember what song we sang . . . but I don't . . . I know it's one Patti wrote . . . (a little help here?) Any way, Rachael was pregnant at the time. She's usually a bit of a cry baby, but it's even worse when she's pregnant! So, we're singing along (la, la, la!) and suddenly, Rachael stops as her cry baby side takes over. So, three of us are singing along (la, la, la!) and suddenly, Shauna stops. Her cry baby side isn't quite as dominant as Rachael's, but it's still pretty strong! So, two of us are singing along . . . (la, la . . .) and Patti starts laughing at our other two sisters while she starts to cry. Can you say "solo"? Yeah, AWKWARD!! I hate singing solos . . . especially while my three sisters are crying and my parents are laughing at us! Fortunately, we all laughed about it later, and knew it would become a great story for years to come. One of those "remember the time when . . . " stories.

So, my first requirement in singing with the three of them today was that I was not allowed to sing any solos. (This requirement went out the window the moment the song started . . . with me singing a solo . . . blast!) Secondly, there was no crying allowed! After all, that's what started the disintegration of our last performance! With those requirements, we set out to practice . . . once . . . the week before we performed. Can you say stress in B flat . . . because when I sing with my sisters, I'm always afraid I'm the only one who will be flat! Fortunately, with a little extra tutoring and prompting, some of which was over the phone, I managed to pull it off adequately. My sisters, of course, had no problems on their parts. I'm probably the only one who stressed out about it all week long! All I can say, is thank goodness for the Spirit!

And so it is with this experience, and every other one where I sing with my sisters, I've come to the following conclusion. While my sisters may be masterful musicians, I am merely mediocre. For example, Patti wrote the song we sang. Rachael is self-taught on the piano. Shauna can sing higher than normal people can hear and still make it sound good. The list goes on and on. And then there's me. I may be the weakest link, but at least I'm smarter than a 5th grader!