Saying that Real Life has been insane lately would be a bit of an understatement. Studying, lab responsibilities, family visiting, wife singing some concerts, and four children to care for. . .
Interestingly, it is the oldest and the youngest that have required the most attention. The youngest simply because Big Al is only 7 weeks old. The oldest because she is old enough to make poor choices, and consequences follow.
Sadly that has left the two middle ones, our very own Jess and Aubrey to fend for themselves a bit. Aubrey has done well, demanding attention during the day when it is just her, mom and the baby who still sleeps enough. So even Aubrey has been getting what she needs.
That leaves Jess.
And much to our dismay we realized it also meant she was getting left out. After a few days of uncharacteristic disobedience and sassiness from our sweet 5 (almost 6) year old we realized we had been neglecting her somewhat. So I swore to remedy that.
Enter Opera Man.
No, not the SNL character. This is the better, more child appropriate version. Yes, I am our very own Opera Man. And Jessica is my operatic foil. Driving home yesterday we started singing. And when we sing, we do it right. Loud, dramatic, overdone opera, full of useless and excessive vibrato and falsetto.
We love it. It makes us smile and laugh until our sides and our faces hurt. Sometimes we make up the opera as we go, trading off line by line. Often unintelligible, always nonsensical, we make up outlandish stories in which we eat each other, rule the world, and vanquish each other. It is one of those things that Jessica and I do together.
Yesterday, though, we stuck to more traditional songs. We sang 'There was a hole', 'It ain't gonna rain no more', and 'Bill Grogan's Goat'. People next to us at the stoplight knew something was up. We both had thrown our heads back, hands in the air, mouths wide as we hit the final, triumphant notes of our song. It was joyous. There is no other way to put it.
And, of course, Jessica was the model of a perfect child yesterday. She was reminded that she was loved, and she reminded us that she loved us. Gotta do it again. Make it opera, make it fun!