Why I can't drive with my daughter anymore

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I love my daughter more than anything in this world. And I've strived, as a mother, to make she has what she needs, is growing up well-educated, and has good taste in music.

See, music is the cornerstone of my marriage. We fell in love because of music and have spent most of our marriage being together with music all around us. From the moment Lyla was conceived she has been immersed in music; all music that constitute "good music" and by "good music" I don't mean anything of the country or metal genre.

Between Jared and I, our collection boasts more than 4,300 albums and more than 100 vinyls. You can come to our house and ask for a song, and we have it.  Many a night we've spent as a couple sitting on the couch and going through good tunes. I like to sit with my eyes closed and just feel the music. Music makes me happy.

For a little more background... Lyla is now 2 1/2 years old. Weezer was the founding music of her in utero. For some reason, Weezer was all I wanted to listen to when pregnant. So it's no surprise that Lyla can recognize Weezer and even sing Troublemaker when I'm not looking.

When she was a baby, we didn't play baby music around her, we played The Beatles, Bob Marley, Pink Floyd, Maroon 5, and the list goes on. Some of the best memories we have of Lyla are of her bopping around to 80s dance music, singing/dancing to top 40, spinning to club music, grooving to Nicki, singing classical Christmas hits, in tune with great tunes, performing Broadway hits, making up her own song and dance, and singing Georgie.

Lyla loves music and I couldn't be happier.

But...

And you knew that but was coming...

Unfortunately, Lyla is too much like me. I am super picky with my music and so is my darling daughter. With the arrival of my new vehicle came XM radio and boy do I love it. I can listen to my jams on 90s on 9 all day long. However, the little one does not like my music. Ring a bell? Why yes. Growing up, my dad always played "the oldies" when we were in the car and I would complain. I would beg him to put on the top hits and not the oldies. Now karma is a bitch. I'm jamming to Snoop Dog and my daughter behind me says, "Can we listen to Maroon 5?"

It's my fault. I made her a music snob. She is not quiet at all about her taste in music. If there is a song on that she does not like, she tells me to put on Maroon 5 or to put on the "lalala" song, whatever that may be. And if she hears a song she likes, she yells: I LIKE this song. This is my new favorite song. I want to hear this and THEN we can listen to Maroon 5.

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If I don't listen to her, it's WWIII in my car. True story. She cries, screams, yells, arms/legs flailing. God forbid I put on something my daughter doesn't want to listen to. It makes for an interesting car ride. Sometimes I dread it. And sometimes I'll go through every radio channel and all the XM channels like mad just to find Maroon 5 to shut her up. Now I could just put my Maroon 5 CD in the car but that would take away all the fun!

Lyla does love music; that is very true. But not only does she love it, she's very good with it. She can sing dozens of songs by heart and most days I can hear her singing song choruses - most recently it's Try by P!nk she's singing nonstop. When we're out shopping or somewhere and she hears a song, she'll yell: Mom, it's Train! Or she'll yell:  This song is from The Turtle movie!  Seriously. She can spot random songs that play for two minutes in a movie she's seen once. My husband has even been showing her piano and she has a lot of promise.

Will my little girl be the musician I never could be? Maybe. But for now, driving with my little music snob of a kid is difficult yet fun.