Singing is like Parenting

As you'll read further down, my teaching buddies, Laura and Jay, went on a cycling trip this summer and reflected on interesting analogies between cycling and birthing.  I went to Singing Camp for Adult Learners at the Victoria Conservatory and reflected on how singing (or doing anything difficult and new) is like becoming a parent.  

Off I went to the Vocal Academy to study classical Oratorio singing (Bach and Handel) for ten days.  I adore this music and love to sing.  But for the first couple of days I kept wondering how come everyone else knew how the schedule worked, where the washrooms were or how to get a key for the practice rooms.  How did they know the things I found so mysterious?  It so felt like the first few weeks of parenting when you can't get over the feeling that the standard-issue instruction manual somehow got left out of the package your baby came in!  Surely no other parents are having the absurd problems you are having with changing your baby's diaper?  Surely no other parents have babies who won't burp?  Surely all other parents know how to use their baby's car seat?

Once I got those practical kinks worked out, I found I was scheduled to sing in a master class.  This means I prepared an aria and sang it in front of the class and the special guest teacher.  The teacher (a fabulous singer and performer) listened attentively, praised me kindly and then ran me through the piece again, commenting and correcting and suggesting - always kindly and respectfully - ways that I can improve my singing and my interpretation of the song.  

It made me think of the first time I took Hannah out to the store when she was about 10 days old.  I remembered the old ladies who came to coo and fawn over her, and who then told me she should be wearing a hat, and wasn't she too young to go out anyway, and why didn't I have her in a stroller, wouldn't she get smothered in the baby carrier?  While well-meant, the attention and the criticism was overwhelming and made me feel that going out with my children was like passing an exam!  

And what if they found out that I really don't know how to sing at all and that I can't distinguish this note from that one and that I'm not sure what key has three flats?  And what if the parents at baby group find out that I don't know which immunizations are given at two months, or how much weight my baby should gain, or what developmental milestone my baby should pass by seven-and-a-half weeks?  Will they turn me in and take my baby away?  Or will they just not talk to me?  And that would be almost as bad!

Doing something new and important and difficult is SO unnerving specifically because it is important to us and we want to do an AWESOME job.  But I don't intend to get to Carnegie Hall and you don't have to be the perfect parent.  We can just be Good Enough.  We can just enjoy our music and our babies, do our best at our singing and our parenting and realize that everyone else muddles along too.  We're all in the same boat.

Warmly,

Eva

Cycle of Birth

In the middle of July, two of our childbirth educators, Jay Duncan and Laura Warren, participated in the Seattle to Portland Ride. They cycled from downtown Seattle to downtown Portland - 204 miles over two days - and found the ride to be challenging both physically and mentally. They discovered that they really relied on each other for support and encouragment, both in training and during the ride. In effect, they were each others' 'cycle doulas'. Read Jay's description of how this physical challenge was so much like labour here .

Recipe of the Month - Shakshuka

I passed this recipe by many times before a girlfriend convinced me to try it. I thought, c'mon, eggs in tomato sauce? How good can that be? Turns out it's amazingly delicious. It may be the perfect recipe - tasty, easy to prepare, and only calls for things I usually have in my kitchen. Give it a try and you might just find, as we did, that it belongs in your weekly rotation. [Note: you can, of course, use any tomato sauce you like - I've used the traditional one I always make and the result is equally delicious]

The recipe comes from a blog I love dearly, Smitten Kitchen. She never disappoints.

Shakshuka [Eggs Poached in Spicy Tomato Sauce]
Adapted from Saveur

Serves 4 to 6

1/4 cup olive oil
5 Anaheim chiles or 3 jalapeños, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped (I was nervous and only used 2 Anaheims; I would go for 3 or 4 next time for a more moderate but still gentle kick)
1 small yellow onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed then sliced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
Kosher salt, to taste
6 eggs
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
Warm pitas, for serving

Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add chiles and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and paprika, and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is soft, about 2 more minutes.

Put tomatoes and their liquid into a medium bowl and crush with your hands. Add crushed tomatoes and their liquid to skillet along with 1/2 cup water, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes. Season sauce with salt.

Crack eggs over sauce so that eggs are evenly distributed across sauce’s surface. Cover skillet and cook until yolks are just set, about 5 minutes. Using a spoon, baste the whites of the eggs with tomato mixture, being careful not to disturb the yolk. Sprinkle shakshuka with feta and parsley and serve with pitas, for dipping.