Mother’s Day is Sunday and I am going to visit my parents. Mom is 82 and still a soprano in her heart and soul. The songs she taught me were not the typical songs, since she was a coloratura soprano and sang in choirs as a paid soloist or in shows for most of my childhood. I do remember, very distinctly, her practicing the Queen of the Night runs from “The Magic Flute”, almost every day well into her 60s, usually while doing the dishes. These are the kinds of things most “civilians” take for granted–but those runs have to be practiced and practiced for them to stay in the voice. And those were the real “songs” my mother taught me– in order to stay in practice for difficult things when you need to be , you have to practice. Even when doing dishes.