One Of B's Gifts

     Along with reading, which B has always excelled at, one of her other talents is remembering both the words and the melody of songs. The kid is a sponge for music. I keep trying to get her interested in choir, or voice lessons, but she won't go for it. She only needs to hear a song once to get it down, and she will remember it for years, spontaneously usually.
     Two days ago, on Wednesday, we had an appointment at Hematology. B needs to get some blood work down, because we are going to suppress her period. The pediatric gynecologist needs to know if she's at risk for further strokes, so that we can decide how to do that. Birth control can increase the risk of strokes. We had to wait for the doctor for a long time, which meant having to keep B entertained. For a while she was happy wearing a mask and pretending she was the Grinch Doctor who was going to operate on me.
     I got her up to waltz with me, while I hummed. All of a sudden she said, "I know the Coast Salish National Anthem," and she started to sing it. She sang the whole thing, very well, with all the tonal changes and proper pacing. I was blown away, and I felt just so overcome with pride for her.
     Her school has a large First Nations population, 64% of the student body is First Nations. We are not First Nations, but I have always really liked the diversity of her school. The majority of the other students are English as a second language, largely Asian. This has been an overwhelmingly positive part of her education. Her school teaches a First Nations curriculum, and so she has learned so much about the culture.
     I knew, of course, that they sang the Anthem at the school, but I hadn't realised how well she had learned it until she sang it to me.
     When she was done, and I wiped my teary eyes, I told her that she had just demonstrated more cultural awareness than most people I had met. And I am so proud of her. And grateful to her classmates and school for sharing that with her.