On Silence

When I drive, I usually do not have the music on. I might put NPR or KPCC on for a minute and then I'll get tired of it and turn it off. I kind of just really like silence. And so when I have D in the car, it's silence. No news.


The other week, I was the driver when we were shuttling the girls to and from an event. On the way back, the girls in my car were really funny. They made up stories about a stuffy that D had brought with her for the car ride and then they started gossiping about school stuff...ummm, the one girl has an older brother (3rd grade) and they were whispering about what he does when he is alone with this 2nd grade girl. They kiss!! Oh. My. Gosh! They French kiss! Giggles all around. Not so much by me, but that's okay.

And then when we reached our destination I asked the other mom, what was the mood like in her car? She replied, "Oh, the girls were excited! I had the music up and they were bouncing and singing in the car."

It then dawns on me, "Gee, I wonder if my kid's friends all think it's weird that there is never any music when they travel in my car.

But, then I think, but why would I want to put music on when I can hear their cute conversations? AND, by the way, the girls will oftentimes sing the songs they learn in school. Like the following

Hello, Bonjour, Buenos Dias
G'day, Gutentag, Konichiwa
Ciao, Shalom, Dobradien, Hello to all the children of the world

We live in different places, from all around the world
We speak in many different ways
Though we might be different, we're children just the same
And we all like to sing and play

Hello, Bonjour, Buenos Dias
G'day, Gutentag, Konichiwa
Ciao, Shalom, Dobradien, Hello to all the children of the world

Some children live in the desert, some live in the town

Some children live down by the sea

If we could meet each other to run and sing and play

Then what good friends we all could be

I meean, come ON, who would want to listen to programmed/ recorded music when you can hear children singing songs like this one? Or, additionally, I'd love to hear this singing rather than songs like "You used to call me on your cell phone..." Whatever that song is. Probably Taylor Swift. No offense. The girl is beyond lovely but her songs are for older children.