Chloe Dancer

February makes me think of love; Lady Estrogen makes me think of Rock 'n Roll. Funny how the two so frequently fit together. The memories that are most important do not play back in my mind as a silent movie, I'd say they're more like MTV; a stream of music videos with short interludes adding witty commentary here and there. Memories of love are always tightly connected to music.

When I think back to the humble beginnings of me and Nate, music plays a big role. I was the bartender at the pub his band played in, he was the bass player. He managed coffee houses during the day, jammed with the guys in the evenings and dragged me all over the province to be his personal (and only) groupie. It was a different life back then. I'd work until 3am, and miss my 8am classes, he'd sleep until 3am, and spend a couple of hours with me before rushing off to his early morning shifts.

Things are a little different now. Where we used to get ready in the mornings leisurely with coffee and Pearl Jam videos on the tv, we're now methodically racing through a morning routine including a to do list that a sane person couldn't fit into an entire day. Instead of the stereo emoting constantly, I find that at times I'm reluctant to even turn it on because I know Chloe will be quick to test the speaker's full potential, and then pull the volume knob off. Most days, I just don't want the fight. So long to Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews and Ben Harper providing the audio for my memories. These days I'm more likely to be humming the lyrics to 5 Green and Speckled Frogs.

While our melodious roots seem to be put on pause for the time-being, they are certainly not forgotten. I will admit, the tunes are not taking the centre stage these days, but we do (almost) always dedicate some musical space for Nate and his dusty gear. We no longer frequent dingy hotels in remote towns so Nate and his mates can entertain the masses, but Nate does make it down to the basement from time to time to lay down a track. Music is still very much a big part of our lives.

Memories of love are always tightly connected to music, at least for us they are. And I can see that this will be a tradition that we build many of our family memories on. Be it Liam sneaking down to the basement to plunk on the little organ we found abandoned down the street, or Chloe intently bobbing to the beat; music will remain a big part of our lives.

I will leave you with a song that is very meaningful to our family. When I asked Nate if he had any ideas for a name for a daughter, he didn't have to think for a moment; he'd known Chloe would be the one for years.



This post was written by Kristy Dolha, who writes amazing and inspiring posts over at Life - Inspired by the Wee Man. She also organizes One Wee Voice which is a blogger collaborative to help raise awareness through our writing of particular causes, such as Child Poverty and Domestic Violence. Check her out when you have a chance!