Singing with the Windows Down

An Homage to Late Summer

Stevie Wonder. He didn’t need my accompaniment but how could I resist singing along to “Lately?” Windows down, riding through campus, passing the scooter boys (and a few girls), the bicyclist’s weaving around cars and people, students in heavy backpacks quickly trying to make it to their 8:00 AM classes, and me, at age 62, singing at the top of my lungs and not a care in the world.

      Did anyone stare? I don’t know. If they did, I did not notice or care. I used to care when I was younger. I worried that my voice wasn’t “good enough” and would only sing when cruising down the highway. I realize now that I love my voice and more than that, I adore singing. It vibrates my whole inner being and who can resist Stevie Wonder?

     The chord changes in the  song “Lately”, the lowering of my voice with age, the heat of the late days of summer, all contributed to a sublime experience. I was also supremely glad that I was no longer young.

     I’m not. I am not young. The beautiful thing is, I feel fabulous! I am unapologetically, “Me!” How the hell did it take so long for me to get to this point? Some might say, “Oh, she’s trying to get people’s attention” (by singing with the windows down…I mean really belting it out) but I’m not! I love the early morning air, I adore the songs of Stevie Wonder as they punctuated much of my youth and damn it, I love to sing!

     Am I a good singer? I don’t know. I don’t need to know. I like it. That’s what matters. It’s not like I’m trying to make a career of it. I am competing with no one. It is for my complete enjoyment.

     One of my dear friends, posted a “Playing for Change” video on her social media where the singers are singing, “I am Everyday People.” She and I are very similar in thought and our desire for a peaceful world.

     Singing vibrates the Vagus Nerve. Oh, that tricky nerve and I have an interesting relationship. I am a person with anxiety. I have been my whole life, and it will be with me forever. Singing helps me domesticate my anxiety, at least for the time I am singing.

     What song do you have to sing to? Tell me below, please! Thank you for reading, and sing, sing a song, sing out loud, sing out strong.