The Best Things In Life

A bountiful harvest.

Over the last few days, it has been so restorative and nourishing to just hang out with my two beloved children. Nothing in the world will ever matter as much to me as these two people, and nothing is more important to me than teaching them to trust themselves, to act with intention, to be kind, to do their best, and to truly believe in the infinite possibilities their lives present to them.

Both my children are highly creative. They love to draw, build, pretend, and weave new stories. One of the most satisfying and precious things to me is their developing love of and interest in music, in playing it and enjoying it. Our house is usually filled with it. Whether they are dancing to something contemporary, singing along with a favorite bluegrass song, or picking out a familiar tune on the sax, piano, or guitar, they are enjoying the experience of sharing music together as a family while growing their confidence and self-esteem with every song learned and note played.

Memories of my own childhood in the hills of southeastern Ohio are filled with music. My three brothers, the youngest of whom is ten years older than I am, had a band from the time I was two years old. My first “hit” record, made on a tape player my brothers won in a band contest, is not “Farmer in the Dell” as my dad had hoped, but Wilson Pickett’s “In the Midnight Hour”. Those days of sitting together with my family playing or listening to music had enormous influence on me and I am grateful for every minute.

One of my favorite songs is a beautiful ballad by Iris Dement, called “Mama’s Opry.” It’s a sweet, lovely tribute to the beautiful action of making music a household practice, even if it’s just singing along to a favorite record. Those moments have stayed with me through to today, and it’s my every hope that my children will remember these precious days when they sing to their own children and maybe, their grandchildren. So whether your stage is the Ryman Auditorium or your own front porch, don’t be afraid to share music with the ones you love.

Mama's Opry
by Iris Dement www.irisdement.com
featured on Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Vol. III (2002) and Iris Dement, Infamous Angel (1993)

She grew up plain and simple in a farming town.
Her daddy played the fiddle and used to do the calling
when they had hoedowns.
She says the neighbors would come and
they'd move all my grandma's furniture 'round.
And there'd be twenty or more there on
the old wooden floor dancin' to a country sound.

The Carters and Jimmy Rodgers played her favourite songs.
And on Saturday nights there was a radio show
and she would sing along.
And I'll never forget her face
when she revealed to me,
That she'd dreamed about singing
at The Grand Ol' Opry.

Her eyes, oh, how they sparkled
when she sang those songs.
While she was hanging the clothes on the line,
I was a kid just a hummin' along.
Well, I'd be playing in the grass, to her,
what might've seemed, obliviously,
But there ain't no doubt about it:
she sure made her mark on me.

An' she played old gospel records on the phonograph.
She turned them up loud and we'd sing along,
but those days have passed.
Just now that I am older it occurs to me,
That I was singing in the grandest opry.

And we sang Sweet Rose of Sharon, Abide With Me,
'Til I ride The Gospel Ship to Heaven's Jubilee.
And In That Great Triumphant Morning
my soul will be free,
And My Burdens Will Be Lifted when my Saviour's face I see.
So I Don't Want to Get Adjusted to This World below,
But I know He'll Pilot Me 'til it comes time to go.
Oh, nothing on this earth is half as dear to me,
As the sound of my Mama's Opry

(instrumental)
And we sang Sweet Rose of Sharon, Abide With Me,
'Til I ride The Gospel Ship to Heaven's Jubilee.
And In That Great Triumphant Morning
my soul will be free,
And My Burdens Will Be Lifted when my Saviour's face I see.
So I Don't Want to Get Adjusted to This World below,
But I know He'll Pilot Me 'til it comes time to go.
Oh, nothing on this earth is half as dear to me,
As the sound of my Mama's Opry