My daughter has been exposed to classic (and classical) music for all three years of her existence. That's not to say she doesn't enjoy children's music. She will gladly sing Fire Truck or Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star upon request. However, her love affair of music is a story of two: The Police and Michael Jackson. I actually sang Police songs to Camilla while rocking her to sleep as an infant. I'd like to think that her eventual appreciation of their music and Sting's solo work was due in part to my vocal stylings.
As she matured into a bouncing and opinionated two year old, she started to develop musical tastes. About a year ago, everything became Police-centric. We went months listening only to the music of The Police, Sting, and a CD of children's music produced by her preschool. So, we decided to get a Police poster for her room. We even decided to dress as The Police for Halloween.
C'mon, we tried.
Although we played the music of Michael Jackson before, somehow she moved away from her love of The Police and became strictly a Michael Jackson enthusiast in 2014. (Janet made the cut, too! That's Alright with me. :)
She would ask our friends what was his or her favorite Michael Jackson song. (Hers is a tie between Beat It and Man in the Mirror) It became par for the course to sing MJ songs on the way to school, as was the case on this morning a few months ago.
This love of MJ's music has continued throughout the summer, with most mornings beginning with Camilla jumping on her mini trampoline to MJ's music and videos. (Not Thriller though.) We put Michael's birthday on Camilla's calendar, counting down the days. She even made him a card.
You might be wondering if we have shared that Jackson has died. The answer is no. Not because we are afraid to tackle a challenging topic with a three year old, but because we don't think she'll believe us. With an album, new videos, and a live hologram performance, who would blame her. We will eventually tackle this topic as well as others with Camilla soon enough. But now, we just want her to enjoy the music.
I was excited to learn that there would once again be a celebration of MJ's birthday in Brooklyn this summer. The week long build up to this fantastic event organized by Spike Lee was a lot for her young mind to bear. Finally, it was Sunday, and it was time to get ready.
MJ glove-check!
MJ socks-check!
MJ hat-check!
MJ Funko toy-check!
Somehow her hand made it to her crotch, a la MJ.
We arrived at the party. And she had a blast. She danced with folks who also love MJ's music. Seriously, she walked up to other folks dressed as MJ from various videos and started dancing with them. Pretty bold. So many of her favorites were played, including Blame it on the Boogie.
She asked to leave when she clearly realized her mind had been sufficiently blown. Here's hoping that Camilla will continue to be herself and like who she wants to like the way she wants to like them and not have her likes dictated consistently by others. Go kid, go!