It Was Just One Of Those Moments, But Forever Burned Into My Memory

Sam likes it when I sing to him. He may be the only one, but he REALLY likes it. We have a roster of 4-5 songs that are in heavy rotation and a couple that leap in from time to time. This is a far cry from when he was a newborn, and I a terrified, first time, new mother. I remember a middle of the night feeding when Sam was about 3 months old. He was cranky even after his belly was full and his diaper was dry so I decided to try singing. I was panicked because in the exhausted haze of sleep deprivation, first time motherhood, and eagerness to sooth my child, I could only think of one song, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Because it calmed him and it felt so good to hold a warm, content, quiet angel who couldn't seem to take his eyes off of mine as long as I was singing, I maybe sang it 35 times that night.

 

Cut to 2 1/2 years later. We all get full nights of sleep now, I am WAY over the brand new mommy panic, and Sam will ask me to sing to him at random times, not just in the dark of his bedroom as he falls asleep. We love The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows", Edith Paif's "La Vie En Rose", Elton John's "Your Song", and Elvis Presley's "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You" (okay this one comes out a bit more like the UB40 version). As with many things, Sam's preferences are really starting to show and last night he insisted I sing "da why am I burr song". I racked my brain but couldn't think of any songs about cold that I had sung to him recently. I started a couple other songs but it wasn't any of those. I asked if he could remember anything else about the song. He replied "da why am I burr song", "da one if da angels", and finally the one that brought it home "la, la, la, la, la".

 

It had been a while but a song that I used to sing to Sam quite frequently was the Carpenters' "Close To You". I started singing "Why do birds suddenly appear, every time you are near" and his eyes lit up like they were on fire, he smiled so wide I thought his cheeks might crack, and his little hands couldn't clap fast enough. "Dat one mommy, dat one, da why am I burr song"!! It's ahhhhhhh-mazing what they hear, how they process information and what they remember. Last night was a little like that night so long ago. I must have sang "da why am I burr" song 20 times before he was sated.

 

And honestly, in those moments of perfect, cuddly, quiet, happy, peaceful contentment that can be rare with a two year old, it took me that long to be sated too. It was a moment when all of the hectic frustration that two year olds feel, and everyone who lives in the house with them get to feel too just falls away. It was a heavenly moment. A truly peaceful, nothing else matters moment. A snippet of time where I was completely, utterly, IN the moment. It was our moment, and it was good.

 

Hold him a little longer.
Rock him a little more.
Tell him another story
(you've only told him four).
Let him sleep on your shoulder.
Rejoice in his happy smile.
He is only two and a half
for such a little while!