The Day's End
My husband and I sometimes argue about whose turn it is to put them to bed mostly because the five minutes that it takes to get them upstairs and begin the bedtime routine is not the part of the day you tell your friends without children about. But after those five minutes, getting them into their pjs, getting them to brush and floss their teeth and reading two stories (they each pick one) - well, that's still not my favourite time. Lately, my son's just trying to bug his sister all the time and that includes during teeth brushing and story time.
But after all those things are over, then I sing to them. And that is one of my favourite times of the day.
My History of Songs
Growing up I went to camp, and one of my favourite activities at camp was singing, which we did a lot - at every meal and then around the campfire as well. I sang in the school choir for years and happened to be in a class of girls in grade and high school with quite a few good singers and we always did well in the Kiwanis singing festival.
I also had a neighbourhood friend and classmate who was my best friend in high school and she and I used to sing all the time. We used to sing pretend opera when we walked home from school. She was an amazing singer and could sing harmony to anything while I sang the melody. In fact, we travelled in Europe together and busked in front of the Trevi fountain in Rome. We had a big group around us with a few holding up lighters and another few holding up cellphones, presumably with someone listening on the other end, a couple danced and then the cops broke it up. And to top it off, we earned enough for a bottle of wine.
So when I sing to my kids, all these great memories come back to me and this feeling of overwhelming contentedness. Singing, like dancing, has that affect on me.
Not Your Typical Lullaby
They used to ask for kids' songs, like Baby Beluga, Twinkle Twinkle and You Are My Sunshine. But I started to sing them some of the songs I sang in school and camp. Songs that I sang hundreds of times and still know every word to.
Their favourites change every couple of weeks but have ranged from Fly Like an Eagle, Cat's Cradle and Time After Time (Tuck and Patty version) to Blackbird and Jet Plane.
Tonight I sang Country Roads for my son (that's been his pick for a few weeks now) and Bridge Over Troubled Water for my daughter (she was too tired to pick so I picked that one for her - I needed a change from Time After Time).
My kids now know all the words (or most anyway - although I can't guarantee that over 50% are the right words) to Time After Time, Country Roads and Blackbird. If you ask my daughter to sing, she usually starts with Country Roads and moves into a Time After Time loop.
Maybe one day she'll be singing these songs to her kids and thinking of me.