Edelweiss

It was a bank holiday yesterday and an uneventful one for that! Uneventful because it rained all day and my morning was spent planning how I can do something worthwhile for the afternoon. I planned all morning and then tired from all the planning ended up curled in a blanket, sipping tea and watching TV instead.

Turns out I did have a worthwhile time. I watched 'The Sound of Music' again.

The movie meant more to me now than any other time I've watched it and given the chance I'd watch it a hundred times over. It brought back such personal memories of my childhood.

I remembered how my mother used to swing me on her lap and teach me poetry even before I joined school. I remember how she played Sunday School songs on this old audio cassette player that we exchanged later for a CD player. She taught me the song, "Be careful little eyes what you see...be careful little feet where you go..there's a Father up above and He's looking down with love...so be careful...la la la la la."

I remembered how daddy always made up songs. I believed they were real songs until I was older and understood his rhyming talent. "My daughter, my daughter...my life giving water!"
He knew songs about every word in the dictionary. He would sing in shower, while driving, while walking...and it was always contagious! I remember trying to harmonise with him when he sung "You fill up my senses!"as he drove me to college.

I remembered Sammy connecting his guitar to his amp and playing so loud that I could hear him before I even entered our building on my way back from college. He used to keep his guitar on the loft and every now and then, mum and I would turn the TV volume down to listen to the faint sound of him playing the guitar when he was supposed to be up there studying.

And most important is the memory that made me cry. I remembered Mrs Emily, my primary school teacher who taught me 'Edelweiss' so that I could take part in a singing competition. I hadn't watched the Sound of Music then but I loved the song and I loved her too! I loved that she picked me to take part in the competition every year and taught me different songs. Others were 'Just before the battle Mother', 'How much is that doggie in the window', 'Red River Valley', etc.

As I remembered all these things and saw how important music was to the von Trapp family, I realised something else: Music has always been a very important thing in my family too! There's always been peace when there was music and there was music all the time!

Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Every morning you greet me
Small and white, clean and bright
You look happy to meet me

Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever

Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever

God, Bless my family forever!