Accord

Weekly Anamnesis #22

With 4 children ages 7 and under things get pretty chaotic. Words like accord and harmony, just make me chuckle and think, “yeah, okay when the kids are sleeping maybe.” But there is a time everyday, when even if it is for just a brief moment we experience those moments of peace. About fifteen minutes or so before Dad comes home we gather in the living room. I pull out my towering piles of music and shake off the dust while Elizabeth hauls out the box of rythm instruments for the kids. I check to be sure that Paul’s spoons are sitting on top of the piano and then I sit myself down on the piano bench, flex my fingers, and begin to play.

It definitely isn’t quiet accord, but there is an element of peace to it. The peace that comes with joy. I usually start with Joplin to get the kids going, everyone grabbing instruments and playing and dancing around the room waiting for Dad to come home. Even Jacob joins in, playing and singing with the best of them. The house is full of joyous music, laughter, and singing and then I feel it, that moment of harmony when everything is just right in the world, and I see my kids all around me sharing my love, my passion. The sparkle in their eyes, the curves of their mouths as they grin from ear to ear, the joy spilling forth from every crack and I know that this old house is rejoicing with us. Then Daddy walks in and admist hugs and kisses picks up his spoons and joins the frey. Jacob tries to copy him whacking the little children’s set of spoons against his legs, singing all the while.

If I could take a spontaneous picture of my family, when none of us were looking or aware, it would be in that moment. All of us united sharing a passion that only we can share and experiencing the love and harmony in our home. Love, laughter, accord.