Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are.
Three simple, oft-repeated lines familiar to most people but given new significance to me by an adorable little girl who I had the pleasure of spending a couple of days with while on holiday this week. This girl was little Annie, 5 years old, almost 6. Short blonde hair and chocolate eyes and wearing pink knee length trousers and a light green Tweenies tshirt and Tweenies traniers. Bearing a beautiful smile that made me want to do anything in my power to make it recur.
After firing a few toy guns at her new guests she went off to demonstrate her dubious musical talents. Her initial attempts to play the piano resembled some sort of dischordant atonal music that can only be achieved through vigourously bashing random keys for five minutes. Any other observer would have cringed at the sound but the look of enjoyment on her face gave it a definite musical value to this listener. After the boredom started to set in I asked her if she wanted to learn a proper tune. Although she couldn't read music I was suprised to find that no one in the family had taught her a tune to play when she clearly enjoyed hammering the keys so much. I thought Twinkle Twinkle would be of appropriate difficulty and proceded to teach her it by rote, with her sitting on my knee in front of the piano, guiding her delicate hands to the right places until she could almost remember it off by heart. By this time I had to tear myself away to have dinner with the adults so I left her to practice by herself and shouted constructive criticism to her from the dinner table. Just when I thought it couldn't get and cuter, she stared singing along aswell - her angelic little voice with a lovely southern accent... I was melting on the spot. I think her parents are probably lamenting the day I taught her the tune since she now seems to be playing it at every spare moment - no doubt driving them up the wall. I don't think I'll be able to hear that tune again without thinking of our brief time together. Funny how these associations develop.
When it was time to leave I gave her a hug accompanied by her mum's comments about how good I was with children, and how I should send her a photo of me to put on Annie's "adoring board" (I could have misheard "drawing board" perhaps) and then she was gone - probably never to be seen by these eyes again but leaving a lasting impression that will be completely unforgettable as long as that tune is still around.
TTFN
Foreverman