Community Voices for Health

By: Heather Desmond O’Neill

“Mama, will you sing us just one more song….pleeeaassseee?

Ah, the “goodnight” song. In our house it is usually the “goodnight concert.”

After our routine of bath, stories and prayers, we end with a song…or four. It started with a short Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and has evolved into two longer songs and then the “just one more…”

When Jameson was small enough that I could rock with him, I would sing Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid, mainly because it was one of the only songs that I knew all of the words to. Of course we sang You Are My Sunshine, the ABCs, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Twinkle Twinkle, and a few I made up when I felt I needed to sing something different before I lost my mind.

When Jackson was an infant, I wanted him to have his own “song” like Jameson did with Part of Your World.  I started singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow. As expected, I sang all of the others and modified some of our originals like The Stinky Bum Song, a unique rendition of A-Your Adorable and the J-A-M-E-S-O-N / J-A-C-K-S-O-N song (sung to the tune of the ABCs):

J-A-M-E-S-O-N, that’s how we spell Jameson
With big blueberry eyes and chunk-a-licious cheeks
A beautiful smile, But his bum really stinks!
J-A-M-E-S-O-N, that’s how we spell Jameson.

J-A-C-K-S-O-N, that’s how we spell Jackson
With milk chocolate brown eyes and skin so soft to touch
His giggles are infectious, But his poo stinks so much!
J-A-C-K-S-O-N, that’s how we spell Jackson.

Tonight we sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Forever and Ever Amen. The boys know these songs so well that they sing them with me; it’s more of a group sing than a lullaby. But the sweet sounds of my boys singing “I’m gonna love you forever” are something that I’ll never get tired of. Lately the last “wrap it up” song of choice has been Take Me Out to the Ballgame. They sing loudly, “And we’ll root root root for the Red Sox, if they don’t win it’s a shame! For it’s 1-2-3 strikes you’re out at the old ball game!!!!” Now they are both wound up and I am out of songs. I kiss them both, close the door and venture downstairs. Then the fun starts. Over the monitor I get to listen to them sing songs to each other. There are few things better than listening to a 2-year-old sing Twinkle Twinkle to his older brother and his brother clap and cheer because he understood most of the words! They go back and forth for a few rounds and then slowly the singing turns into the rhythm of two beautiful boys sleeping soundly.

I know the years of them wanting me to sing to them will be short.  I’m cherishing this time and the sweet sounds of their voices as long as I can.