It’s the middle of the Jewish High Holiday season. I have been participating in synagogue services via Zoom, and I find that I miss saying the prayers out loud even more now than during Friday night services, which I also often attend via Zoom. It’s hard to feel completely present in the service without my voice.
A year or so ago, my son, Max, asked me which ability I most wished I still had since getting ALS. “Speaking,” I replied as quickly as I could type with my eye gaze device. Max was surprised that I didn’t choose walking. Sure, I would love to be able to move independently and do all of the things that go with mobility. Nevertheless, speech is the ability that would give me back my sense of self and independence the most.
My voice had an auspicious beginning. When I was born, hospitals still kept the babies in the nursery. My mom was in her hospital room, resting, and she heard a baby crying very, very loudly. She thought to herself, “That poor mother!” Then the crying got closer. And closer… until it was in her room. She saw that I was “purple with outrage.” Her pity for the mother turned to pride, and she thought, “No one’s going to push her around.”
For the most part, she has been right. I am no shrinking violet.
Getting back to services, I not only miss saying the prayers out loud, I also miss singing along with the congregation. Joining in song always flooded me with warmth and connection. Of course, if you ever sat next to me during services when I could still use my voice, you know that I sang extremely quietly, even silently. That is because I couldn’t carry a tune and I was both too self conscious and too considerate of those around me to sing audibly.
A colleague of mine who was the school choir director told me that anyone can learn to sing. I heard the same thing from other professionals over the years. One of the things I had hoped to do after my kids were grown was take singing lessons. I just wanted to be able to sing on key, nothing fancy. I’m sad that I will never get to try.
In my next life, I want a beautiful voice. I want a voice that gets roles in high school musicals. I want a voice that leads others in song. I want a voice that lets me harmonize with my husband. I want a voice that allows me not to be a shrinking violet when the congregation sings.