Kathy and I spent a lovely day and evening in Madison with Dad and Sonja, Nathan, plus Randi, Matt, Aiden, Anna and Kaj who were there from Decorah. It means a fairly full house and a generous amount of energetic chaos which descends on the place, but Sonja and Dad don’t seem to mind a bit and manage to make us feel so welcome. And every time we’re with our Decorah nieces and nephew, we are reminded all over again of how lovely and fun they are to be around. I’m only regretting now that I didn’t spend more time grilling each of them on how things are going with them. I found myself content to just be around them and enjoy their joy, if that makes sense.
It’s not easy to buy Christmas gifts for young kids when you see them infrequently and don’t know all that much about what is specifically firing them up at any point in time – but we’re probably luckier than most long-distance aunts/uncles in that the Spencer-Bergs don’t seem to get too caught up in the latest fads and trends. They are grounded in the best of the basics, and music being chief among them. That’s what inspired Kathy’s idea for what to give all three kids for Christmas. . . a set of handbells just like the ones she uses in her classroom at Schulte Elementary. I admired them a couple of months ago when I visited her – bedazzled by their brilliant colors (of course) and by the fun way they’re constructed. (You can play them one of two ways- either holding them and ringing them the normal way, or by leaving them on the table and tapping the top of the handle.) So that’s what we bought the Spencer-Bergs- plus a couple of songbooks- and at the rate of overstating it, this was probably the single greatest Christmas gift ever given by anyone to anyone in the history of the world. They were having so much fun with them plus learning to share- and eventually, when they start collaborating on songs (in which each of them will be taking care of one or two of the tones) they will have another lesson in teamwork. We told Randi as we left that we expect the five Spencer Bergs to play something together the next time we’re all together – and it doesn’t have to be a Brandenburg Concerto by Bach; Turkey in the Straw will do very nicely. (Although knowing the amazing musical abilities in that household, plus the great joy they have in making music together, I won’t be surprised if they end up able to play all six Brandenburg Concertos plus every folk song recorded by Pete Seeger for good measure.)
It really is neat to think about the way that music weaves its way through the lives of the Spencer-Bergs and what a joyous and stimulating way it is to spend time together – whether listening to a recording of the most recent Burning Bright concert (the annual concert in Decorah which began this year with an exquisite duet sung by Randi and Aiden) . . . laughing along with Randi as we listen to a recording of her playing the violin on a recital, only to stop dead in her tracks and announce to the audience that she had to stop playing because her violin teacher had just walked in the place . . . cajoling Anna, SO gifted but rather shy, to play or sing for us . . . enjoying Kaj’s earnest and surprisingly assured piano playing, despite the problem of having misshapen hands with less than ten fingers . . . listening to Aidan sing “Sento nel core”, one of the songs which I often give to my college students to sing, and which she tosses off with the greatest of ease . . . or hearing the five of them sing together with each member of the family adding their own color to the picture. I say it again- I love the way in which music pulses through the veins of this family. And there’s no more delicious feeling on earth than to know that we’re doing our part to deepen and broaden that love of music for them.
pictured: Kaj taking his turn playing the bells with his sister Anna looking on and Randi coaching from the sidelines.