On the fifth day of Christmas

On the fifth day of Christmas, the Good Lord gave to me...

...five Messiah solos (and one duet)
...four Mighty Oakes
...three Hallelujah cheers
...two chemo drugs...
...and an MRI with good news we could see!

Yesterday's Messiah event was a dream come true! My voice was a little rough from such a long cold, but it did fine, and I spent the whole time just marveling that I was actually singing in a theater instead of being dead (or barely alive and unable to process music). It was a miracle and a joy. As a special bonus, as everyone stood and sang the Hallelujah chorus, my son stood and tried his best to sing along. As I watched him, I noticed that even at the young age of five, he looked like a little chorister in a boys' choir. His mouth was in perfect position: jaw dropped, corners in, etc., like a trained singer! (I guess the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree!) It was an extra treat.

My husband and I did our duet of "O Death, Where is Thy Sting?", like we did at Easter time, and it is especially poignant (or morbid - whichever) to sing that together under our circumstances. I was also able to sing "Behold, A Virgin Shall Conceive", "O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings To Zion", "Then Shall the Eyes of the Blind", "He Shall Feed His Flock", and "He Was Despised". Five favorite alto arias and recitatives. It was fun. I also got to have a cool mike taped to my face. It's very cutting edge theater technology and it's fun.

I'm so grateful to those who came and supported the performance, and I was delighted to hear that there are plans to do it again next Christmas, perhaps even with orchestral accompaniment. I have plenty of other reasons to try and be around for next Christmas, but it's nice to add more!