I'm a huge fan of Christmas, and I like when the festivities stretch over several days. I don't mean that I start celebrating the minute Thanksgiving is over, but I do like the extended holiday that Christmas can turn into. This started in middle school, when having divorced parents and a big family celebration meant that Christmas usually lasted for three days. And it continued this year when I managed to get five days of celebrating in.
Kevin's mom is a member of several choirs in the DC area, and Christmas ends up being a pretty busy season for her. All of her choirs perform several times in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Every year, one of her smaller choirs sings carols in the lobby of the Willard Hotel for an hour or so. Since the hotel is only a few blocks from my office, it's easy for me to head down to see the performance after work. Then Kevin, his mom, his sister and I go out for dinner afterwards.
The concert is in a hotel lobby, rather than a theater, which gives it something of an informal air. People are wandering around, chatting, ordering drinks at the bar. There's a small audience that sits through the entire set, but most people wander over for a song or two.
Because of this, Kevin and I were having a quiet conversation. We were trying to organize a brunch for the following morning and coordinating with my brother who would be arriving at some point. I also giggled through the entirety of Hark the Herald Angels Sing because Kevin was forcing all the rhymes. That song attempts to rhyme "come" with "womb" and "peace" with "righteousness".
All of this added up to a lady in the audience glaring at us. We were clearly destroying the magical concert for her by having our own fun. So I decided to be naughty and join in on the next couple of sing-a-longs. People who know me know why this was such an evil move.
I cannot sing. I couldn't carry a tune if you put it in a bucket with five handles, as my high school friends were fond of telling me. I can't even hit notes. Not that this has ever stopped me from trying. I performed in two musicals in high school (they needed people who could tap dance and just refrained from giving me a mic). I even took singing lessons one summer where I was told that if I used my diaphragm a bit more, I'd ever a better chance of hitting notes.
That advice backfired, because it led to me getting louder any time I heard myself straying too far from the people around me.
By the end of the concert the lady looked like she wanted to kill me. But if the choir invites everyone to sing along, I don't think you can really put restrictions on that. Everyone should be allowed to join in.
After the concert, we got dinner at the Old Ebbitt Grill. The wine list had a shiraz-viognier blend that was surprisingly delicious. Everything was good, though the Irish coffee at the end wasn't my best idea ever.
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