I saw my aunt driving on main street just after I got my license. I wanted to show her that I was behind the wheel so I sped up to honk and wave. As I neared her car, I saw that she was singing, and to herself no less! I'm sure it was simple tenor but in my exaggerated teenage mind, it looked like a one woman opera. I was so embarrased for her that I thought I would die. I remember trying to think of a way to tell her that it was only cool to sing in the car if you had a passenger, but I never did.
A couple years later I'm driving solo on main street in the evening, and I badly want to sing along with the radio. I reason with myself that nobody will see in the darkness and set the vocals free. It feels good but I pause when I hit an area with better lighting.
Spring forward to daytime 2009 and I'm running errands sans others in the car. Robbie is blasting my speakers and not only am I blaring the lyrics, I'm tappin and slappin the steering wheel like its my last gig. I start to wonder what Zak would think if he pulled up next to me now. Hmmm funny...I don't really care and if I stop here, I'm going to miss belting my duet on the best part of the tune, so I carry on with confidence.
Why do I divulge such addle? Because I need to know. I need to know if my carelessness will create substantial setbacks in my children's future. I need to know who amongst you does the same. Forget further rationale, I just need to know...
15 comments:
Oh--- yeah. Sure as the sun will rise, I will sing in the car. Of course- my tunes now a days is a CD of melodic nursery rhymes that Peyton can't get enough of. I've become a master of all things rhyming. Her favorites are Little Miss Muffet, Humpty Dumpty, Puff the Magic Dragon, and Hey Diddle Diddle. I can sing them at the drop of a hat, as per her request. In the car it's like I'm a regular Luciano Pavoratti. I'm amazing. At least that's what I tell myslef...and Peyton thinks I'm awesome, so that's all that matters. And you can bet that when I AM in the car by myself, which is rare, that I crank up the tunes and belt it out, night or day. I don't care who witnesses it. I just consider them lucky to be on the road the same time as an undiscovered star such as myself.
Oh girl, You are singing to the choir. LOL I can rock it with the best of them. You should see me singing to NKOTB like there is no tomorrow. I don't care if anyone sees me.
I feel the opposite as you do Angie - I have always felt like when you're alone it is perfectly acceptable to really rock! But, I don't like it when people sing to the CD or radio - cause I want to hear the actual artist sing. My mom is a real singer - and growing up (even to this day) -she doesn't care who is in the car she will sing as loud and as dramatically as she wants. Can you imagine a teenager who's mom is carpooling her and her friends to the skating rink and the mom is just belting one out? It was horrifying! Scarring actually.
Well Girl if you ever came up on me on a busy street, you would see me singing and DANCING!! I could care less who sees, I just don't look at who is in the car next to me...ha, ha...The kids are in the car with me too, I don't think they care too much, Trace usually tells me to turn up the radio louder maybe so he does not have to hear me sing???
P.S. if you want to you can bring me a copy of that wonderful Rob Thomas you are always talking about, (since I will see you on friday?)
Somehow that didn't come out clear - I don't like it when people sing when they are in the car with me (cause if they are singing (friend, spouse, mother!)then I can't hear the real singer And I don't sing when I am in the car with someone.
I can't sing for the life of me but that doesn't stop me from singing in the car too.
My thing is I LOVE the bass of the beat if ya know what I mean....I love to move my head to the beat and move my shoulders. Freeway--it's free game....South Weber Drive---I wait until I get to the freeway or farther away...
Love it! What a great post and great comments! I'm with angie b, south weber drive is maybe a little too close for comfort. I've yet to embarrass any of my children, because they are joining right along with me, usually.
Heeheehee... I ONLY sing in the car! It's the ONLY place to sing. I do tend to keep my mouth shut and just hum while I'm on S. Weber Dr. :)
However,I'll never forget the day we got our Mini van and I was singing along at the top of my lungs to The Cult, & Nitzer Ebb....It was a big reality check for me that I was no longer a cool teenager...I was a mom in a minivan for crying out loud! There is just something wrong with that picture that makes me laugh to this day...but I still do it :)
You know, I'm so rarely alone and/or listening to MY music in the car, but I do always sing outloud, even HSM gets me rockin'. Then the very day you posted this my BFF gave me CDs full of songs from when we were in high school and OOOHBOY. I caught my self ON SW DRIVE jammin' to Erasure and it felt so good. :)
Everyone knows that your voice sounds better in the shower and in the car. So those are the two places that I belt out the tunes. I gave up a long time ago being self conscious about it. One time a car of teenagers pulled up next to me and were pointing out to each other that I was singing in my car. I just looked right at them with all the self confidence I could muster and sang even louder. It felt really good.
this aunt wouldn't be my mom would it?? haha, she sings and dances in the car like no one is watching hahaha... I totally think you should sing at the top of your lungs and dance all you want when you are driving because you only live once and singing and dancing makes you feel good! Who care's if someone see's you!
Ash, yes the aunt I wrote of was your mom. Funny thing is that if you're actually in the car with her, she makes up her own words too, doesn't care if she sings the real ones or not.
Thank you for everyone's feedback. I feel completely validated to proceed with the current manner in which I behave behind the wheel. I'm also relieved that I'm not the only one. The So Weber drive self-conscious ones made me contemplate if I should also wait, but the majority has confirmed that unnecessary.
Paige, I knew what you meant the 1st time. If adults, besides Sweet Rolls, are in the car with me, I generally don't sing because it ain't pretty. I'm also too busy blabbering.
Why does Sweet Rolls have to suffer?
Paybacks for Lola.
Post a Comment