A parent has many proud moments as they watch their child grow up. Their first words, their first steps, their first day at school.

I recently watched as another milestone in Bridget’s life passed by – the moment I realized she might have good taste in music.

This moment has actually been building for a few years. We put up with the typical Sesame Street music, but Bridget did enjoy some artists that didn’t have annoying parents as their first goal.

I know some people don’t like The Wiggles, but I loved them. Sure, they did some basic annoying nursery rhyme stuff, but they had a background in rock music and had some songs that I could really get into. We went down to D.C. To see them in concert, and I had a blast.

Bridget also loved Laurie Berkner, who also transitioned from rock to children’s music and left a little something in there for the grownups. We didn’t mind when that CD got a workout in the car.

The next big step came when Maria started listening to The Beatles on long car drives instead of the kid’s music two or three years ago. Within a few trips, Bridget had her favorite songs and sang along with a few tunes.

Mission accomplished.

She started to notice the songs playing in my car more and more after that. I made a mental note so that I could make her a CD worth listening to. I was really flattered when she asked me to make her a CD of the band Tullycraft, a Seattle band a friend of mine got me hooked on last year. Their upbeat songs were perfect for Bridget.

So before we went to the beach last year, I gave Bridget a little present – her own MP3 player. I didn’t go out and spend a couple hundred bucks on an iPod. I won’t even do that for myself.

Instead, I gave her my older player, when I upgraded to something with more capacity. I think she can hold about 15 or 20 songs on her new toy, which she calls a CD player despite my efforts to try and educate her on the difference between CDs and MP3s.

Before we packed up for the trip, she and I sat down at the computer and worked on her song list. She wanted a few Tullycraft songs, a couple from her KidzBop CDs and a few rock songs that she loves to listen to.

That trip started something new that has happened on every car trip since July. We settle in. I turn on my music, Maria opens her magazine and Bridget settles in the back seat with her headphones on.

We drive along for a little while without too much conversation and the music playing pretty low. Then, the sound comes from the back seat.

“Since U Been Gone. I can breathe for the first time.”

I remember my siblings, who had a huge hand in shaping my musical tastes, yelling at me for singing too loud when I had my headphones on back when the Walkman was first released. Maria remembers those days too.

So we just look each other and laugh. At least she’s not singing an Elmo song. I don’t know if I could take that anymore.