Sing me a song

When our children are babies we sing to them almost instinctively. Maybe it's purely survival when it's three a.m. and you are up for the fourth time. Singing keeps you awake enough not to drop the child.

The older our children get the less we sing those lullabies, nursery rhymes, or folk tunes. My youngest son always asks his Nanna to sing to him when she puts them to bed. But my mother is from a different generation. Singing, singers, radio was a bigger part of their life. My mom who no longer listens to any music, just talk radio, can still sing every camp song ever written and most of the music from the 50's and 60's.

The other night after putting this particular four-year-old back in bed for the third time while trying to finish kitchen clean-up, laundry, and school papers he said to me, "Sing me a song mommy."

I was ready to say for the third time, "JUST GO TO SLEEP." When is realized if it were that easy for the child, I wouldn't be here. Maybe he needs a song.

So I sat down on the side of his bed and began to sing to them, when it occured to me that my reportire needs considerable help. I'd start a song and forget the second verse, or worse get a tune stuck in my head without words, or words but no tune.

I ended up reverting to the sounds of my early college days when I was introduced to Cat Stevens and James Taylor. Now for someone who grew up with Peter, Paul and Mary, then went to High School with Guns -n- Roses and Ozzie Osbourne, these men were a treasure. And having been a dance and theater person I also have a few show tunes that are forver inbedded in my head.

Last night must have been one of those nights, again, for the four-year-old because as I was walking him back to bed for the third time I said, "How about a song?"
"Please mommy will you sing the moon shadow song?"

Thanks Cat, I owe you one;-)