Happy as Kings...

The world is so full of a number of things,
I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.
                    "A Happy Thought" by Robert Louis Stevenson

Ever in search of the kind of simple, fulfilling life of wonder you hear about in old stories and tales, our family embarked on an adventure in music some years ago. Already fond of playing and singing, our instruments took on a new appeal, and the range and sort quickly multiplied as capacities blossomed. The children have been quickly tuned-in and astoundingly insightful when it comes to picking up the good old melodies and rhymes, facilitated not only by new instruments but especially by the better stock of music. What began with a Christmas caroling devotion of sorts, within which we dedicated ourselves to traversing the neighborhood and gifting our neighbors with lively and heartfelt singing for the Christ-child and to celebrate the merriest time of the year, in a round about way developed into First Saturday bonfire sessions of folk and sacred music with family and friends and then into the familiar habit of a living room past time, just us and the children, at any given time though especially in the evenings throughout the year. Learning basics from her father and getting a few formal lessons for voice and piano, our firstborn child's genuine love of music, something obviously imprinted on her young soul, has been easily passed on to the other children as their interests mature but from the earliest ages. And so we have a house filled with music (at many points skills budding but soulful), and our walls are lined with instruments that vie for space with the bookshelves.  We have come to be grateful for the daily hazard of making our way carefully through a maze of books and banjos. 

This year, our eldest daughter wished for a violin - a notably lofty request even though we make exception when considering worthwhile investments in good fodder for the imagination and the soul. She was required to accomplish a feat that would both test the lastingness of her desire and prove her abilities: a fifty-song guitar challenge. Months-long of countless hours were spent practicing chords and lyrics when finally, through the course of Advent, her father subjected her to a test, and, five songs per night, she worked her way through the list to show mastery. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience all around, and her prayers and single greatest wish of Father Christmas were answered happily when, on that most glorious morning of the year, anticipated long and with much making way in preparation for the birth of the Savior, she found a beautiful, shining fiddle on the hearth on Christmas morn. And so, our house rings anew with the joys that only come at Christmas accompanied by the difficult but lovely bow-on-strings music of the violin!