In the Mindset series I reminisce about some of my favorite memories of my daughter's life when she was younger. I hope that the task of writing these entries will serve me well, and I hope too that you will enjoy going on this trip with me.Today's journey takes us to visit those classic comfort songs that our children love for us to sing to them. Sometimes they are part of a bedtime ritual. Sometimes they help to provide comfort. Sometimes they ask us to sing them just because they love the song. For my daughter, from the time that she was about two until she was about nine, there were two regulars in my arsenal that were requested daily. One was "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again" and the other was a song we called "Moo Cow". The first of these is a classic song that my daughter first heard on a children's song compilation tape. I could tell from her reaction that she loved the music and the lyrics. When she asked me to sing this to her, I made a quick visit to the internet to learn the lyrics. The second song I made up but its original history is now lost to me. I simply repeated the words "moo cow" over and over to the Jeopardy theme song. Even now if I close my eyes and sing these songs, I can picture holding my little toddler in my arms or laying next to her bed singing her off to sleep. I even remember a thunderstorm or two that was survived by rocking her back and forth while singing these favorite lullabies to her. I still have the paper that I hastily scrawled those Johnny lyrics on more than 10 years ago tucked away in my dresser. I have always had a passion for singing, and I count it a privilege that I was able share this love with my daughter.
(Shown in the picture below is my daughter's toddler bed that I sat next to all those nights in song.)
