There was a time in our lives, in the year before seb was born, that charles and i really had the opportunity to indulge in our love of music – classical, jazz and otherwise. a highlight for me in 2000 was hearing yo yo ma play live in hong kong. we also saw david helfgott. our home was filled with classical music, or miles davis, moby or mozart.

then there came the baby mozart years.

when i yearned for silence. silence in my home was the indicator that all had gone well. that my day could begin. there wasn't so much music in the home then, although seb, and then later the triplets, had a cd of lullabies, or classical or christian music playing.

in the outer sanctum, no music. possibly a television series, but no music. if one (that would be charles) wanted to listen to music, isn't it wonderful that there was a new invention called an ipod. that had earphones. background noise just wasn't a friend.

i do like silence. particularly when reading. and when driving, i would rather talk than listen to music. when i run or hike, 70 per cent of the time i am headphone free. at yoga, it doesn't matter, the music is actually quite nice because it hides the sound of my creaking bones and grunts as i smack to the ground.

a few months ago, charles bought a piano, a yamaha clavinova. it has brought him a great deal of pleasure and peace. the kids are quite interested, sela in particular. typically, carys is the child with the traditional "piano fingers". one of the features is that the piano spills out pre-recorded music when you push the correct button.

today jasper was playing at the piano, one of his own arrangements, when he flicked a button. and suddenly the sounds of mozart's piano sonate 15 filled the room. light, persistent. never a favourite of mine. but so beautiful.

and so i have been here blogging while listing to the vivaldi's four seasons, yo yo ma playing edgar cello concerto, and thinking of different seasons in my life. a season of sound….welcome back.