You have stopped making sound for pleasure

Not humming along under your breath. Singing, with your whole chest, the way you used to.

Because you did, once. In the car with the windows down, in the shower, in a school choir, at the kitchen sink with the radio turned up.

You knew the words to everything. You sang badly and happily and it never once occurred to you to wonder whether anyone was listening.

Then the singing got smaller. First it moved to times when the house was empty, then it shrank to humming, and now you might not have sung properly in years.

Think about why. Singing out loud means making a sound purely for your own pleasure, at a volume that takes up space in the room.

For a woman who has spent decades keeping herself quiet and easy to be around, that is a surprisingly large act. It announces that you are there, and that you are enjoying yourself, with no other justification.

It is the audible version of naming a favorite season. Both say the same thing: I am here and I like something.

All I did was rub this on my panties and —WOW!

My bladder leaks are gone.

Now I’m no longer afraid to wear white pants, dance, or be intimate with my husband.

Better yet, the doctor who uncovered this secret also posted a video, that’s free for the next few days, where she shows you what to do.

Don’t wait:

Click Here to Find Out How to Stop Bladder Leaks (Before It’s Too Late!) <<

And it carries a real risk of being heard, which is to say of being noticed doing something unproductive and slightly ridiculous. Most women your age will do almost anything to avoid that.

But the voice you sang with was never meant for an audience. It was one of the purest pleasures you had, and it cost nothing and required no one.

It also does something to the body that very little else does. Singing makes you breathe all the way down, and it is almost impossible to sing loudly and stay tense at the same time.

So this week, sing one song, all the way through, at full volume. The car is the easiest place, since nobody can hear you and the road gives you a reason to keep going.

Pick something you know every word to from a time when you sang constantly. Turn it up loud enough that you cannot hear yourself being careful.

Then sing louder than the radio. Not well, just fully.

Things worth remembering about singing out loud:

See you tomorrow.

If someone came to mind while you were reading this, send her these letters. The Permission Slips are yours when she stays.