Singity sing

I wanted to tell you people about singing, because I'm suddenly singing a LOT. Between choir, Arnie, and the Lil Pea, I'm a constant spout of song (of varying quality).

Last week we had a choir rehearsal in which we went over some songs from the choir's repertoire that we may use in an upcoming concert - this Sunday! Problem is, these songs are in the choir's repertoire, not necessarily mine or Meera's. Or so I thought. Then they handed around the Les Miserable medley that I've sung a total of six times in my short lifetime. SIX. I'm trying not to puke from boredom whenever we work on it.

We're also doing an African song that takes two seconds to learn, plus I sang it in college. There are a few gospel things - easy for me to pick up - and then there's this piece we haven't even looked at - Hine Ma Tov? Something like that. Something in Hebrew, which means Meera has an edge and I'm feeling a little panicky.

Then on Thursay, Lil Pea and I ventured out to the Coolidge Corner branch of the Brookline Public Library for an infant/toddler sing-a-long. I was nervous, thinking I'd have to introduce myself to fifteen mothers and nannies, sputtering and hesitant as I've been lately. I pictured a small circle of women lounging on the floor with their babies, some leader-type starting songs and displaying hand movements.

We got to the library early (because I'm finally getting good at getting out the damn door), and as I entered there were already several strollers queued up in the lobby. There was no ramp to the lower level unless we went back outside, so I bumped Pea down the stairs with her Super SUV of Strollers. And that's when I heard the wave of sound coming from the room below.

A WAVE, I tell you... I unbuckled the baby, grabbed some toys for her to chew on, and left the stroller parked with eleven others. And then we walked into this massive room, half full with women and babies, as expected.

But because the room was MASSIVE, half full means thirty moms with at least thirty babies.

And they kept coming.

Pea and I found a seat amongst rows and rows of chairs, many other women were on the floor with cushions brought out for sing-a-longs, others were chasing toddlers up and down the shallow stairs, arbitrating baby-to-baby relations, feeding, burping, changing... It was pandemonium, and Pea had her Pook Face on. (The Pook Face includes wide open eyes, wrinkled brow, and slack mouth - Amazement! Wonder! Pooky pooky face!)

By the time the songstress showed up with her guitar, there were more than sixty kids there, all howling and giggling and gurgling. Pea was delighted and confused. And then the music began. The dark cloud of chaos lifted, and there was Order. Every mother, nanny, grandma and auntie opened her mouth and sang in key, dutifully displaying hand movements and helping their kiddles. The kids were overjoyed... sent into an ecstasy of love for their caretakers and the guitarist, fairly swooning with the power of the fun at hand. Lil Pea flapped her arms, stood up straight and quacked with glee.

This is crack for babies.

Oops! She's up! More later...