Life is a Song

My whole life has been centered around music. Music saved me from a lonely childhood, and music was a tool for healing my broken spirit during a difficult period of adulthood. God bestowed on me a musical gift which was recognized early. Both my grandmother and mother encouraged me to use it and develop it.

When I was a child, every family gathering centered around music. After dinner, the family would assemble near the piano where my sister and I would sing and play duets. The session usually ended with all of us singing a favorite hymn like "Amazing Grace" or "The Old Rugged Cross."

Often during road trips, we would sing to pass the time. Songs like “I’ve Been Workin’ on the Railroad” and “You are My Sunshine” lent themselves to our own arrangements in three-part harmony.

I got a lot of practice in my small, country church where I sang solos and played the piano while my sister played the organ. School also provided many opportunities to perform. My high school choral director was an unpleasant man who didn’t seem to like teaching or kids. However, he selected me for county and state chorus every year of high school, which meant I had the privilege of working with some excellent choral directors who inspired me.

Determined to make a career of music, I majored in music education in college which led me to a forty-five-year career in that field. It included teaching middle school general music and maintaining a private piano studio. I also directed church choirs and a community chorus. Finally, in 1989, I established a music school where I taught Musikgarten to hundreds of children, ages four through twelve and group piano for adults. What a rich, satisfying career it was! How grateful and blessed I was with such varied opportunities to share my love of music!

When I retired in 2016, I assumed my working days were over. I never could have envisioned a whole second career as an author. But once again, God blessed me, this time with opportunities to share my love of writing. On September 23rd, I’ll be launching my third novel, I Want to Go Home.

Both careers have involved a lot of hard work, but each has been fulfilling. I am grateful for the opportunity to engage in and share both my passions: music and writing. Whether I choose to express myself through music or writing, life is a song.

Cindy L. Freeman is the author of two award-winning short stories, a novella, Diary in the Attic, and three published novels: Unrevealed, The Dark Room, and I Want to Go Home. Website: www.cindylfreeman.com; Facebook page: Cindy Loomis Freeman. Her books are available through amazon.com or hightidepublications.com