The precious gift of a voice

It isn't until something is gone, even if momentarily, that we realize what we have. For me, these last few days, I haven't had a voice. I have been sick and lost my voice for about three days which meant barely being able to speak, and certainly, singing was out of the question. I love singing. And this was the first time in my life when I couldn't. The thought of never being able to sing has really made me think about one more thing I take for granted. More than ten years ago, after 9/11, I had recorded a version of the Star Spangled Banner. It was uploaded on what was then mp3.com, a huge worldwide community of musicians. I was chosen out of 50 Anthem singers to be included on the American Red Cross Relief Album. I remember that evening well. I was very honored. After that, my version of our Anthem was used in various presentations, including this one, which I found the other night on YouTube.
It brings back a lot of memories, some very sad, of course. But it also reminded me that my voice is such a precious gift. And not only do I need to take care of it, but I need to take care of me, too. My song begins about 1/4th of the way into the tribute.