It's my favorite time of the year. I have always loved Christmas. Growing up, it was THE holiday in my home. We didn't do a lot of Santa or reindeer, but we celebrated the birth of Jesus with the joy and laughter His birthday deserves.
I remember going to my Uncle John's home, the fanciest home in the family, and I would join my cousins in the finished basement for a variety of fun each year. One year, we borrowed Uncle John and Aunt Joan's video camera (because again, they had the fancy house with fancy things!). Me and my cousins did a very theatrical performance to Feliz Navidad. I can still hear my cousin Chris belting at the end to add some humor. It was honestly, HYSTERICAL.
I love music. I love singing. I love harmonies. I grew up in it, around it all the time. My mom had a beautiful voice and she taught me to sing. I sang the National Anthem before some basketball games in high school with three of my girlfriends. I love love love music; hearing it, singing it.
You may lose something, but gain something even better.
About a month ago, I started having a long bout with a sinus infection. I slowly started coughing so much that I lost my voice. I am serious. Almost a month later, on my second round of antibiotics, I am just now slowly getting my voice back.
Yesterday at church, they sang mostly Christmas music and I couldn't sing. It really kind of bummed me out. I've been through some things lately and I really needed a good morning of singing out.
But then, in my inability to sing, I had to be quite. In that quiet stillness, I was gifted the most beautiful sound....a little voice next to me that might have never been. I heard my l4 year old daughter, who is deaf, singing and belting out the tunes with the purest joy.
What the 'Quiet' Can Do
Lexi's journey is no secret. She's a bilateral cochlear implant recipient who uses spoken language and she can hear. Lately, life has been a little upside down for me. It's been difficult rebuilding the charity after covid and also still raising two teens as a single mom. I also am still Lexi's advocate and if you know her story, involved in much of her pitching training which is five days a week minimum and a lot of travel.
Without the inability to sing, I wouldn't have been forced to be still and listen. I would have made it about me at church and singing for me. But the quiet, it reminded me that when we stop, even if just for a few minutes, we give ourselves time and space to experience the beauty of our own stillness, the beauty of something we might have missed.
For me, I experienced the very timely reminder of my WHY. Why I work tirelessly to help those suffering from hearing loss...to give them the chance to hear and sing along to MUSIC, a gift that can change the world.
Help someone you love get help for their hearing loss and regain their "sweetest voice". Our Care Team of hearing advocates are ready to help!
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