Tonight, I put my eight- year son, Walker, to bed. Each night, I read him a chapter of Lemony Snicket's The Grim Grotto. . .

In this evening's reading, the three main characters became trapped by poisonous mushrooms in an undersea cave. Walker could easily read the book himself, but he knows how much I like the series, and saved this one (number eleven) for us to read together.

Walker laid his blond head on my lap, something he hasn't done in a long time. I stroked his curls as I read.

When I finished the chapter, I decided to sing him the lullaby I sang to him from age two to about the time he started kindergarten.

"When we go to bed, we always have to say. . ." I stopped, expected him to fill in the rest.

"I don't know this song," he said.

"Today's now yesterday," I sang.

"When we wake up, we always have to say," I paused, he shrugged his shoulders, and I sang, "Tomorrow's now today."

"Round and round go the days and nights. Up and down go the sun, moon and starlight."

"You don’t' remember that song?" I said.

"No."

Walker had filled in the words for years, and sometimes sang the whole lullaby to me.

My memories of those nights together were so vivid, and those bedtimes didn't seem that long ago.

"I gave you so much love when you were little," I started to say, "and you don't remember," but I stopped myself, and said, "I took care of you like a little seed, and now you are turning out so nice."

How much could Walker recall of those long toddler years? I thought about all the sticky play dough, playgrounds, potty training, alphabet songs, and patience. Was it all lost?
Before I sang the song again, I said. "Try to learn this."

Walker nodded yes very solemnly.

When I sang the two last lines, I realized that I needed to take heed of the lullaby’s message, too.

"Round and round go the days and nights. Up and down go the sun, moon, and starlight."

By Beth Touchette-Laughlin

Labels: Beth Touchette-Laughlin, lullabies

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