While my eldest son and I enjoy music, my wife does not take the same pleasure in the art. I’ll never forget once when my eldest son was about 4 or 5 years old we drove from Sacramento to Los Angeles and he would only listen to one song over and over again. Tom Jones’ “It’s not unusual”. I am a music enthusiast, but I must admit that trip did put me on the edge as well. Now Jackson enjoys playing piano and will listen to music on occasion, but did not seem to have that same level of enthusiasm. That was until last month. While driving I turned on some music and Jackson called out from the back seat “Paradise City”. My wife looked at me and asked what did he just say? I asked what Jackson? He said again, Paradise City. I said you want to listen to Paradise City? He replied; Yes. I told him that I did not have it on my iPhone, but he just kept saying Paradise City. So I handed him my phone and said Jackson look……it’s not on my phone. My wife asked; where did he hear that? I said that I don’t know. At that moment, Guns and Roses began playing through the speakers. Jackson went into Apple Music and searched for the song. He then began singing – like me completely off key. The song took me back to high school so I enjoyed it. My wife…not so much.
Since the day of that Guns and Roses revival moment, Jackson has been consistently listening to a wide range of music and genres. While we did not realize that Jackson enjoyed music, it obviously brings him great pleasure and has for some time – as evident by the virtual jukebox with a specific musical selection that exists in his memory/mind. I am excited to have one more connection with Jackson. Unfortunately, my wife is now outnumbered 3-1 when it comes to whether we listen to music when we drive.
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