Lullabies to Monopoly...

"May God bless and keep you always. May your Wishes all come true. May you always do for others and let others do for you. May you build a ladder to the stars and climb on every rung and may you stay forever young." Bob Dylan wrote Forever Young, and I grew up hearing Joan Baez sing it.



I used to sit for hours listening to my mom's Joan Baez albums and Simon and Garfunkel, Jim Croce and Charles Aznavour too. (The Aznavour albums are a special memory because they were in french and my mother would translate some of the lyrics.)



Forever Young is one of the songs I used to sing to my babies as a lullaby. I would sit in the rocking chair and rock and sing and they didn't complain if I was off key or forgot some of the words and hummed instead.

It's good to remember those days when just being mom was enough. I didn't embarrass them by existing, as long as their needs were met they were happy. (We have to explain the meaning of need and want these days. ;) )

Now that personalities, likes and interests have emerged, we have different relationships. I am still their mom, not their friend, but I need to find those common things we can share. The Husband has found it easier to bond with the boys because they all share the interest in trains, baseball, Monty Python, Star Wars...you see where I'm heading with this?

I can show interest in their interests, but it's not the same as bonding over which train line runs where or baseball stats..because it's not stuff that is part of who I am. So I find it easier, more natural, to bond with them over nature hikes, books (the middles and I read Farmer Boy and the Adirondack Kids series together last year and it was wonderful) and games. I also like to surprise them with homemade cookies or other little treats like that. (*N* wrote in his Mother's Day paragraph about me that I'm smart because I know recipes for things like Sugar and Spice cookies and French Bread. :O )

So, like I shared the music with my mom, I find other things to share with the boys.

It gets more complicated than lullabies as they get older, but as I watch them grow I only hope they stay "forever young" in how they see the world...open, accepting and with childlike faith.

-Peace