So I was standing in line at Vincenzo’s and I heard someone humming to himself behind me. I turned and smiled and he apologized for being such a bad singer!!!! : ( I told him I was enjoying it and it wasn’t about the notes….it was about the joy that I could feel from him as he was humming. Then I told him about the Buddy Choir that my stepdaughter and I are in. It is a motley crew of people with a variety of personalities and issues including Down Syndrome, Autism, Alzheimer’s….you name it ….we’ve got it! There are young people, old people, people who are confident and those that are insecure. We have those that have obvious issues that they are dealing with and those that are considered ‘normal’ by society’s standards. What we have in common is that we all believe in including everyone. We have a covenant to support each other and we don’t judge. Which is good…… because rarely is a note ever sung on key!!!! Now my stepson, on the other hand, is in a phenomenal band. They play high level music with multiple harmonies, complex rhythms and they write their own music. They are disappointed when the sound isn’t very good and they spend many hours reworking things until they ‘get it right’. Because for them, creating really good quality music brings them joy! I say….yay to both of them. It’s about the joy, not the judgment. Surround yourself with people who have similar standards, do what brings you joy and keep the judgment to a minimum.