"I Got to See How Truly Happy My Mom Was"
In the photo (left to right): Elizabeth Khader, Emma Lynch (Elizabeth’s sister), Charlotte, Chris Bennett (Elizabeth’s mom), and Mitchell Khader (Charlotte’s dad)
Meet Elizabeth and Mitchell Khader, their daughter Charlotte, and Elizabeth's mom, Chris Bennett. When Charlotte was born in the spring of 2025, Charlotte's grandmother left the Iowa town she had lived in her whole life and moved to DC to be Charlotte's caregiver. She didn't know anyone here. Elizabeth wanted to find something the two of them could do together, a way for her mom to meet people, and a reason to get out of the house with an infant. That fall, Chris and Charlotte joined Ms. Libby's babies-not-yet-crawling class at St. George's. Charlotte was five months old.
Then came a surprise nobody planned for. Elizabeth had been back at work for only two months after her maternity leave when the federal government shut down in October 2025, and she was furloughed. So instead of hearing about class secondhand, she came too. For most of that first semester, three generations sat on the floor together singing to the same baby.
"Getting that extra time with Charlotte and transition time with my mom was the best," Elizabeth told me. "I think sharing Charlotte's first music class with my mom was so special because I got to see how truly happy my mom was to be here in DC with us."
A shutdown is a stressful time for families and for our community. Elizabeth found a gift inside it.
Chris found something too. Moving from Iowa without knowing anyone, she says class has been a great way to meet people. Moving across the country for a grandchild is an enormous act of love, and it can also be lonely. A room where you see the same faces every week, and sing with them, turns strangers into neighbors pretty quickly.
A Year and a Half of Growing Up
Charlotte hasn't missed a semester since. She moved from the babies class into our mixed-age classes with Ms. Libby, Ms. Lisa, and now Ms. Linda, and this fall she comes twice a week.
Elizabeth has watched her change in ways anyone could see. Charlotte went from a baby with a general interest in the drum to a toddler who arrives early for extra drum time and helps put the drums away when it's over. She can be a little shy at first, but she always warms up. In Elizabeth's words, she warms up "to the extent of high-fiving every...single...person in class!"
Here is something our teachers often see with "shy" children. They are participating long before they look like they are. A toddler standing at the edge of the room, watching, is learning the songs, the routines, and the faces. Our classes let her do that without anyone pushing her. Week after week, the room becomes familiar, and familiar becomes safe. Then one day she walks into the middle of the room and high-fives everybody. That isn't a personality change. It's what happens when a child trusts the people around her.
Helping put the drums away is part of that too. It's a small job, but it tells you something. This is her room, and she knows how things work here.
Since Chris is her caregiver, Charlotte doesn't spend her weekdays around other kids. Class is where she finds them. "She actually has made a group of friends via music!" Elizabeth told me. "She has an interest in babies and older kids and it's exciting to see."
Elizabeth found something for herself, too. She has always been musically inclined, but adulthood hasn't left much room for it. What surprised her most about participating was how much it brings out her inner child. Now she gets to sing again, right next to her daughter.
Songs in Their Own Words
Is there a song from class that Charlotte hums, bounces to, asks for, or reacts to at home?
"All of them! She LOVES music and will yell at our Alexa to play a given song. But the first song she really had a reaction to from our first Music Together session was Shake Those 'Simmons Down. It saved us from meltdowns many times."
Do you remember a song your parents, grandparents, or caregivers sang to you when you were small?
"This is extremely odd, but my grandma went to see Les Misérables on Broadway when I was about 3 years old. She came home and played the cassette soundtrack in the car. I became obsessed with the music. I first saw Les Mis when I was 3 or 4 years old! Knew all the words. I will always treasure singing the soundtrack with my grandma, and I know Charlotte will have so many memories of singing with her grandma, thanks in part to Mister Mike's Music!"
To me, this is very familiar. When my kids, Stephen and Sophia, were young, we had several musicals on repeat in the car, and those rides are some of my favorite memories. A three-year-old doesn't learn every word of a Broadway soundtrack because the music is easy. She learns it because she gets to sing it next to someone she loves.
And Chris? Her childhood song was "Old McDonald Had a Farm." Elizabeth thought that was pretty fitting for a girl from Iowa.
Charlotte won't remember the specifics of these classes. Most of us don't remember much from before age three. But we remember how things felt. Elizabeth doesn't remember every car ride, but she remembers what it felt like to sing with her grandma, and she still treasures it. Charlotte may not remember the songs from these mornings at St. George's. She'll remember how it felt to sing with hers.
Bringing It Home
Elizabeth signed up hoping her mom would find a few people to know. A year and a half later, Chris has a room full of familiar faces, Charlotte has a group of friends, and Elizabeth has a memory from the shutdown that she clearly treasures.
If you are a grandparent who moved to be close to a grandchild, or a parent trying to help someone you love find their footing in a new city, there is a place for you here. Come sing with us.
There's room for your family. Come see what Wednesday mornings sound like at mistermikesmusic.com.
