Silent Night? No...Just Silent

Back track to December...my dear husband was in an exceptionally good mood one morning. Make that every morning. You know, the kind of mood where they wake up on a Saturday morning and don't have to go to work but get up anyway and the house is warm and toasty and everyone else in the household is sleeping tucked warmly in their beds and Daddy has no one to entertain but the dog? And after his morning cup of coffee and morning shower, he decides the house is too quiet and---installing his best (and loudest) baritone voice---goes down the hallway singing Christmas carols?

Do you have one of those around your house? A treasure, aren't they?

Still not content with being his only audience, he ventures into the master bedroom where the two little girls and I are cosily snuggled up under mountains of blankets. Before you can say"White Christmas" the room erupts into a tickling fest and a loud booming voice calling, "Everybody! Sing!"

Now, by this time, my head is safely tucked deep under the covers and I've tranced myself back into a half-sleep. It has taken me over eighteen years of mothering to learn this trick, but learn it I have. Off and on, I hear the girls start a holiday tune with their daddy, then stop while he finishes. Figuring his baritone talent is impressing them, I stay in my hibernation burrow and don't pay much attention until...

...until the blankets are rudely yanked off my head and the baritone thunders, "Hey, what's this? Aren't you teaching my children any music? Don't they know any Christmas carols?"

Uh, well...geesh...errrr....hmmmm....

I don't think we ever covered carols in our lame excuse for music. Up until this year, my children were taking a music class at co-op. I left that in the capable hands of the music director and never thought twice about it. We listen to some classical music during school time and we listen to tons of pre-school sing-a-longs because that keeps Starr happy in the vehicle thus everyone is happy. But carols?

Somehow, I always thought children picked up Christmas carols through osmosis in December. Isn't that the way it usually happens?

And now, as the feast of Epiphany winds down to a finish, I realize we never did play those mountains of tapes and CD's. Sinful, I know. Embarrassing, to say the least. Another year...No excuses will do.