November 29, 2012 – YA Chit Chat

We all have a talent. Some of us can sing, some can write, some can dance, others can play a musical instrument. I know I personally marvel at someone who can draw, paint or sculpt. It boggles my mind to see someone turn a blank canvas into a spectacular work of art.

All of my kids have inherited some sort of talent. My oldest daughter is a writer. She’s had several poems published as well as a children’s picture book. She is currently a teacher in Seattle, Washington and has an uncanny ability to pick up on other languages. She is currently learning to speak, write and converse in Nepali and Hindi.

My middle daughter sings like an angel and loves the theater. She won several awards in high school for her singing. She’s also an amazing artist and designer. She is currently going for her Master’s degree in theater Costume Design and will graduate in May 2013. Her internships include the Santa Fe Opera, Tibbets Opera House in Coldwater, Michigan, and the famous Maltz Theater in Jupiter, Florida. The Winston-Salem Journal even featured her in one of their news articles you can read here.

My oldest son possesses many talents. He can play several musical instruments including saxophone, contra-base clarinet and guitar. He is also a fantastic artist, inheriting his father’s gene to be able to look at a piece of wood and create something beautiful from it. This morning he completed (except for some small touch-ups and a few coats of polyurethane) his most recent project and largest undertaking to date. He drew the design of the queen trigger fish by hand, then carved and wood-burned the design. Isn’t it spectacular? And he did all from memory.

My youngest son is musically inclined, playing saxophone and alto, tenor and base clarinets. His passion though is computers, video games and weapons. He can tell you anything you want to know about military arsenal back to medieval days. He’s still in high school and is weighing his options for the future. Ever since he was little he’s show a propensity for the military, so I wouldn’t be surprised that’s where he ends up. It’s second nature to him. He still loves to pick up a clarinet now and then and belt out a tune. I hope he never loses his passion for music.

Yes, my kids are amazing. I always wanted another writer in the family. I got more than that. I got a variety of artists in my family, and I am in awe and so proud of every one of them.

What talents do you have? What others run in your family?