Singing

To my son Tommy,

Mommy has been busy studying today, so it was just a daddy-Tommy day.  We hit Sweet Frog and the public library and your Grandmom Roro's house.  It was a pretty good day as any day spent in such good company can be expected to be.  On the way home you said "Dad, can we sing songs?"

We started off with just back and forth scat which digressed into a version of Minnie the Moocher that probably made Cab Calloway rollover in his grave.  We then threw in some nonsense songs from the Doo Wop age and ended up with you learning the oo ee oo ah ah of the Witch Doctor.  Then you said "Dad, can we sing Christmas songs?"

You have Christmas in your heart year round and frankly I have no intention of ever correcting you when you sing holiday tunes outside of the month of December.  My hope is if you can bring the joy of a Christmas carol outside of the month of December that perhaps you can bring the true spirit of Christmas to everyone year round.  So I happily obliged.

We sang Jingle Bells, and Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree and a bunch of others.  We had just finished with Rudolph when you decided to show your worldly diversity and sang me the dreidel song.  I thought you had expended your diversity cache after that song, but then you followed it up with a Happy Kwanzaa song that you clearly said the words "habari gani" followed by some mumbles and then "what's the news" and nearly floored me.  I think, unbeknownst to me, that we were following the songs and the play list from Elmo's World Happy Holidays video and then augmenting it with the play list from Caillou's Holiday Movie.  We finished with you singing Silent Night which, though you mumbled through many of the words, you did well and I didn't even realize you knew that song.  I was grinning ear to ear because who could be cross in any form after singing carols with a four year old.

There is a song in your heart at all times.  I hope you got more of your mother's voice in your genetic make up.  That way you will be much more welcomed to share the song in your heart vocally.  No matter, you just keep singing and spreading that cheer year round.

Sincerely with love from your dad,
Leo