Quiet now, Not a peepClose your eyes, Off to sleep
I've written a song for each one of my babies and I still sing to them almost every night. This one is The Boy's. It's short and the simple, but hey, he was my 3rd in just over 4 years. He's lucky he got a song! When he's just on the verge of sleep I extend it with some humming and repeat it. An energetic 3-year-old sometimes needs a little extra help to settle down.
I love to sing. I sang in choirs from the time I was 12 years old until I had children. Since I couldn't justify (though it would have been justified) leaving them to go to evening rehearsals, I simply turned my singing attention to them and for a while taught Kindermusik.
Our nightly rituals of stories and song are a special time together that I'll miss when they eventually tell me to stop. I've already been through it once with The Boy...
Last summer the children stayed with my parents frequently as my husband and I packed and prepared for our move. Nightly phone calls kept our song tradition alive. Then, once we were all moved out and staying together at my childhood home before the big move, I was able to sing and cuddle with them in person again.
One night, when I started singing The Boy his song and he interrupted. He held his hand out signalling me to stop and said, quite firmly, "Mama! Don't ever sing that song to me again!"
I was crushed! Fortunately, my solid sense of humor allowed me to laugh and share the story with my whole family. The Boy stayed firm in his decision for months. Then, just as winter settled in, he asked me to sing to him again. Happily, I do every night... (that he lets me).
Want to hear how it goes? Press play. Then you can sing it to your babies!
This post was inspired by Mama Kat's Pretty Much World Famous Writer's Workshop! I'm linking up with her. Are you?
