Letter of the Day:  G

G is for George Aalgaard, my dad!

My dad has a wonderful tenor voice.  He started singing with his dad at church when he was a young boy.  His dad, Arne, came over to America on a boat from Norway with a guitar in his hand and a song in his heart.  When my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, we put on a program for them with readings, music, and a special memory book.  Here’s a bit of what I wrote to them:

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for the gift of music.  I’m glad that I inherited the gift of making music from you and that you nurtured the love of music in me.  Thank you for all the piano lessons you brought me to and paid for, music camp, and listening to all that practicing.  Thank you also for encouraging me to use the gift I had been given.  It has been a personal sanctuary for me as well as a way to connect with other people.  My best memories of being close to Dad are when he would come into the piano room while I was practicing and just sing with me.  Did you know that sometimes I intentionally played a song you liked so you’d come?

My dad is a farmer, and I think that he enjoys the solitude of being outside or in his tractor, watching things grow, and singing along to his favorite country or gospel songs.  I know there’s always a song running through his mind.  Once, when it was quiet in the car, he sang softly, then said, “If I can’t be listening to a song, I’ll sing my own.”

G is also for Globe Theatre, where the inimitableShakespeare plays were performed.  This is a lead-in for tomorrow’s post on H, and my favorite Shakespeare play.

Journaling Prompt:  What gifts or talents do you inherit from your parents?  Do you have memories of doing things together?