{"id":704,"date":"2013-02-25T14:54:18","date_gmt":"2013-02-25T14:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kandynolesstevens.com\/?p=704"},"modified":"2013-02-25T14:54:18","modified_gmt":"2013-02-25T14:54:18","slug":"a-joyful-noise-the-last-reeds-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/?p=704","title":{"rendered":"A joyful noise . . . the last Reed’s Run"},"content":{"rendered":"

I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me. Psalm 13:6 (NIV)<\/i><\/p>\n

About this time last year, the first graders at Lakeview were learning to sing the National Anthem.\u00a0 I don\u2019t recall, but it might have had to do with curriculum on President\u2019s Day.\u00a0 One day, Clo came home and told us she could sing it.\u00a0 All of us big people were more than skeptical.\u00a0 Yet we entertained the possibility and listened.\u00a0 She could do it. \u00a0Some of the words were wrong, but the tune was spot on.<\/p>\n

As the months and weeks moved along in the countdown to the final run, we started to check off the\u00a0preparations completed.\u00a0 One box left open was the singing of the National Anthem for the opening ceremonies.\u00a0 As we were preparing for the first team meeting, that conversation came up.\u00a0 In the past, we have had friends including\u00a0one of Reed\u2019s best friends sing our country\u2019s song.\u00a0 We were considering asking a former classmate who has stayed in contact with our family.\u00a0 When somewhat like the mouse that roared, our little Clo chimed in.\u00a0 \u201cI thought I was going to sing the National Anthem!\u201d<\/p>\n

You could have heard a pin drop.\u00a0 Our thoughts: there would likely be a large crowd. Would nerves get the best of her? That is a hard song to sing.\u00a0 Would she be able to do it well?\u00a0 What about her hearing impairment?\u00a0 What if she isn\u2019t hearing well again in September? But quickly, we all realized that the hang-ups were ours, not hers, and since the run is about her big brother, it would probably be a forgiving audience.<\/p>\n

\"cloie<\/a>For those that don\u2019t know the background story, our littlest girl was born deaf.\u00a0 She went an entire year of life before she heard a sound.\u00a0 Thankfully, she has mechanical deafness\u00a0caused by Eustachian tube defect.\u00a0 She started having surgeries at the age of one to restore\/correct her hearing loss.\u00a0 To be able to sing is one thing.\u00a0 To have excellent pitch is entirely another.<\/p>\n

To ensure success, we enlisted the help of our neighbor (who Clo adores\u00a0AND<\/strong><\/em> who happens to be a vocal music teacher).\u00a0 From there, we just let her sing and sing and sing.\u00a0 My ears will never get tired of it, because I remember the days of walking into her room in the morning.\u00a0 She sat in her crib and didn\u2019t have any idea I was there.\u00a0 I remember the days of holding her and having her little hand on my throat because she somehow realized that there was a connection to my mouth moving and the vibrations she felt. I remember her not making sounds; so if she wanted to sing, we were going to let her.<\/p>\n

She practiced.\u00a0 She sang, and she sang some more.\u00a0 Finally, came the big day! If she was nervous, she never let it show.\u00a0 With a microphone held steady by me, she belted out the National Anthem as if her voice was strengthened by choirs of angels.\u00a0 She nailed it.\u00a0 It was so moving that many had tears in their eyes as a little 7-year-old girl sang to honor her country at an event to remember her biggest brother.<\/p>\n

When she sang, it was more than a joyful noise . . . it was a healing balm to my soul.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Note: Unfortunately, her performance was not recorded in its entirety at Reed\u2019s Run.\u00a0 We do have her performance from Our Journey of Hope night (the annual remembrance of the anniversary) at our school.<\/p>\n