Composer versus Confection

Last evening, as he often does before our supper together as a family, Jay put on some classical music for us to enjoy. He mentioned to me that he’d chosen some Brahms in hopes that it might help everyone feel a little calmer and more peaceful. (Josiah had been yelling for some time prior to sitting down to supper.) Jonathan, upon hearing the name “Brahms” remarked with interest, “Oh, I know Brahms!”

As if on cue, Jay and I turned to him together, eagerly asking him what he could tell us about Johannes Brahms. Our parental ears were ready and waiting to listen to our eldest son’s knowledge about this Romantic composer. After all, Jonathan admittedly floors us almost daily with the wealth of information stored in his clever brain, much of that information drawn from lessons and experiences at his beloved school. Our parental hearts were swelling with joy and yes, admittedly some small amount of pride in this little six-year-old of ours who is rather like a walking encyclopedia and often knows much more about the great composers and famous works of art than do his thirty-something parents.

Unbeknownst to each other, Jay and I were both thinking to ourselves, “Ah, that amazing and wonderful school, where his little mind is cultivated, his spirit is nurtured, and his enthusiasm is fed with not just the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic, but the wonders of history, the magnificence of great literature, the beautiful artwork of painters and sculptors throughout history, the glorious music of renowned composers, and on and on and on…what interesting facts about Johannes Brahms are we about to learn that we never knew?”

After such a mental build-up you may well imagine our collective shock when Jonathan glibly answered, “You know, Braums…..well…..we went there, and they have great ice cream!”

Well now, indeed they do.

7 Replies to “Composer versus Confection”

  1. Way to go, Jonathan! By the time I finished reading this entry I was drooling over the idea of a thick chocolate shake.

  2. I am in Brenham at least one day out of every other week. Maybe Jonathan will come with me to the Blue Bell factory sometime, and we can taste test them versus Johannes.

  3. Oh I love your buildup! Now be honest, didn’t you have an inkling of what he was going to say and the association he was making. Your story is great tho as written.

    Do you guys realize the legecy you are building up in having this blog? Think of the fun, years down the road, of coming back and rereading these stories.

  4. Mom, Jonathan would love to share one with you!

    U Andrew, just name the day and you will have one happy little travelling buddy. (“Take your Nephew to work day”?)

    Cuz Ruth, honestly, NO! That is what makes it a great story…not much embellishment needed! Both his daddy and i were very surprised by his response. If you hung around Jonathan for very long, you’d understand!

  5. Cuz Ruth, I must confess to be completely taken by surprise. I can remember the time I put on the Messiah last Christmas and the kids asked me who the composer was. When hearing it was Handel, either Abigail or Jonathan piped up with, “Oh. He also wrote the Water Music.”

    Their school (www.covenantdallas.com) exposes them to more music, art, and poetry in kindergarten than I encountered throughout my primary education.

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