International Sing-Out Day

I have a confession to make. I cannot sing. (This will come as no surprise to anyone who has shared a hymnal with me in church or been a passenger in my vehicle.) It is a very sad story, actually. One day, when I was a young girl, full of innocence and bliss, I was singing at the supper table. All of a sudden, my own father uttered a comment that continues to shatter my spirit to this day:
"Be quiet! You can't carry a tune in a bucket!"
It was a turning point in my life; the point, one might say, where I left childhood behind and entered the cruel, cruel realm of reality. So, though inside my soul sings like a canary, I will not be participating in today's festivities. Perhaps someday, I'll be free to sing. But for today, it is just too painful.