A Conversation With My Father
"Now that you'll have relatively more free time, why don't you take voice lessons?" he asked me. The question came out of nowhere.
I responded with a bemused expression on my face. "What for?"
I remember saying that I sing for boredom's sake. I sing for comedy's sake. From a pragmatic perspective, I did not understand the significance, nor the purpose. At one point, I used an idiom about old dogs and tricks. I had no intentions of shifting careers (or could even afford to do so with my voice). I went on, babbling on and on about the superfluity of such an endeavor.
The whole time he listened, nursing his glass of red, probably used to hearing me get carried away with my melodramatic oratory. I punctuated each sentence with widened eyes or a self-deprecating chuckle. When I finished, I had to ask again in resounding finality. "What for?!?"
I did not expect an answer.
He gave me one, nonetheless. "Because you can, Mia. Learn to sing because you can."
I had nothing to say in return. I exhaled deeply, savored a sip of wine, and let him have my silence. At that moment, his wisdom deserved it.
I responded with a bemused expression on my face. "What for?"
I remember saying that I sing for boredom's sake. I sing for comedy's sake. From a pragmatic perspective, I did not understand the significance, nor the purpose. At one point, I used an idiom about old dogs and tricks. I had no intentions of shifting careers (or could even afford to do so with my voice). I went on, babbling on and on about the superfluity of such an endeavor.
The whole time he listened, nursing his glass of red, probably used to hearing me get carried away with my melodramatic oratory. I punctuated each sentence with widened eyes or a self-deprecating chuckle. When I finished, I had to ask again in resounding finality. "What for?!?"
I did not expect an answer.
He gave me one, nonetheless. "Because you can, Mia. Learn to sing because you can."
I had nothing to say in return. I exhaled deeply, savored a sip of wine, and let him have my silence. At that moment, his wisdom deserved it.