This is a song... revisited

Speaking of songs and rocking chairs, I'm republishing one of my early posts when I started this blog about 5 years ago. It's one of my favorites, for someone very special ...

This is a song... can you hear me tonight?

(first published August 28, 2005)

My first grandchild... my sweet, sweet baby girl... will be twenty on her next birthday. Twenty... how can twenty years have passed when it was only yesterday that I held her in my arms, rocking and crooning her a lullaby as she drifted off to sleep?

We have a specialness, this child and I, one that began all those years ago and is bound tightly still by a rocking chair and a song. Her song... our song.

I first heard the song long before she was born, listening to the radio as I fell asleep each night. It was an instrumental tune, with a haunting, compelling melody -- one that I often found myself humming during the day. It remained in my consciousness for awhile, and then like most songs, quietly slipped into my mental jukebox, to be recalled every so often when something pushed that button.

Several years later, shortly after this beautiful child had entered my world, I was trying to comfort and quiet her little distressed self one night. I began to sing that particular song. Not with words, but in that humming, doo-do-do-doo way that we do when we don't know what the words are. She struggled mightily to keep her tiny, fluttering eyes open, but with every note, the rhythm and rocking won out, and she floated off to dreamland.

And so it began... a nightime ritual and a melody that endured thousands of miles and many months of separation. She was only a year old when she moved away to California. We saw one another a couple, three times a year those first few years, and more often the next few when she returned to Maryland. We talked on the phone a lot. Whenever we were together, we always had our special moments at bedtime -- talking and rocking and singing. Sometimes just riding in the car, a sleepy little girl would ask "sing me my doody-do song, Mommaw."

Time, distance, and life events couldn't begin to break the bond that had been formed, and even though she moved away again, our special times continued, lasting well into her teen years. Sometimes we'd lie on the floor in front of the stereo, listening and humming along to her song with the album I'd found. Sometimes I'd tease her and start singing during the day and because of it's Pavlovian effect, more often than not I'd hear "don't sing, Mommaw, you're making me sleepy!" When she became too big to rock, I sat on the side of her bed, stroking her head, holding her little hands, and doo-do-do-ing her song to quiet any hidden monsters and ease her to sleep.

I still have the rocking chair that she asked me to keep until she grew up, ready to pass on when she has her own place.* The album too. Several years ago, I made her a CD of me singing her song so she'd have it at bedtime whenever she wanted. As she's grown older, the song is still very much a part of "us" and sometimes, when I sense that she's troubled, I just hold her and sing her song. It still has that soothing effect for her.

She's going to be twenty in January, but she'll always be my sweet baby girl and I'll always have her... and her song... in my heart, ready to doo-do-do-doo in an instant's notice.

Oh, and the song? Not a traditional lullaby at all, but the warm and peaceful "Mull of Kintyre", an old Scottish bagpipe tune that Sir Paul McCartney put lyrics to in the late 70's. It went on to become the 4th top selling single of all time in the UK.

Mull of Kintyre

Words by McCartney-Laine
Album: Wings Greatest

Chorus:

Mull of Kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh Mull of Kintyre.

Far have I travelled and much have I seen
Dark distant mountains with valleys of green.
Past painted deserts the sunset's on fire
As he carries me home to the Mull of Kintyre.

Chorus

Sweep through the heather like deer in the glen
Carry me back to the days I knew then.
Nights when we sang like a heavenly choir
Of the life and the time of the Mull of Kintyre.

Chorus

Smiles in the sunshine and tears in the rain
Still take me back where my memories remain
Flickering embers grow higher and higher
As they carry me back to the Mull of Kintyre.

Chorus.

*duly passed on... see previous post :-)

Passing it on...

About 24-1/2 years ago, my first grandchild came into my life - a precious, sweet little baby girl who captured and has kept my heart from my very first sight of her in her mama's arms.

When she was still just a teeny, tiny little thing, I took to rocking and singing to her to soothe and ease her tiny self into peaceful slumber. This continued well into childhood and when she became too big to be held and rocked, I still sang her special song to her at bedtime. Bedtime rocking and singing became our own special bonding time. To this day, if I begin to sing or hum her song, it can still make her sleepy. :-)

As she grew older, she asked if I would save "her" rocking chair so that when she grew up and had her own baby, she could rock hers to sleep too. And so I did. I kept it safely stored away for her until she wanted it.

So, about three months ago, when that same precious, sweet baby girl gave birth to her own child... an equally precious baby boy... I passed on the rocking chair. She has fixed up Baby B's room adorably and I know that my first great-grandchild will have many sweet, sweet memories of being rocked and sung to by his mommy. Maybe his first child will too!

The rocking chair then - 1986
being rocked by her Poppaw

The rocking chair now - 2010
ready for baby duty again

More summer doings...

For about 20 years, when one of us hasn't driven all the way, we've picked up/returned the grandkids about halfway between our house in MD and theirs in SC. Our meeting place has been a Long John Silver's restaurant in Pulaski, VA. Surprisingly, "our" booth and table have almost always been empty, just waiting for us to get there. Kinda like going "home," you know?

So, on a Saturday in mid-July, we drove on down and 4-1/2 hours later, as we neared the restaurant, I could see that, hmmm... something didn't look quite right. No bright yellow sign, no little banners flapping in the breeze, and no cars, little or otherwise, in the parking lot. Oh, no... it was closed!!! I mean, CLOSED, as in Out. Of. Business! How could they do that to us?? This was family tradition they were messing with! I mean, really - a little advance notice would've been nice! Jeez, people!

For sale or rent and closed up tighter than a drum

Gone-zo!!

So, we quick found another place to meet up that day (thank goodness for cell phones!) but bemoaned the fact that we'd have to find a new meeting place for subsequent trips. (More on this further down.)

Jim, Chris, and Tammy at temporary meeting place -
listening intently to something brilliant I'm saying! ;)

me and Michael - not a clue what I'm
reacting to but what a face!

We always enjoy summers with the boys and this year was no exception. We didn't do anything extra special, but spent many hours at the lake picnicking, swimming, and just enjoying.

waiting for the grill to get hot for hamburgers

Chris and Michael honing their scuba skills

Chris practicing floating

Michael practicing swimming

For the return trip to take the boys back, my brother John and lovely sis-in-law Lynne came to the rescue and we met at their place in NC. (This could be the start of a new tradition!) And, we got to see Christy and then-2 month old Baby B as a bonus!

hard to believe my little girl is now a mommy...
and such a good mommy, too!

the little guy just loooves his grandpa...
warms my heart :)

sucking on mommaw's finger -
no milk there, sweetheart

playing with and smiling for his mommy

our wonderful host and hostess, Bro John and Lynne

We had a great summer and I hope you all did too!!

Summer doings...

It was definitely family time for us this summer.



First there was the baby shower in SC ...

Mommy- and Daddy-to-be opening up a boatload of gifts

Then, there was Lewis' 1st birthday party in NJ ...

yummy cake and cupcakes

Lewis enjoying every crumb of his cupcake

raring to go in his very own wheels

Then it was back down to SC to meet our brand-new, beautiful great-grandson ...

Bryson Philip cuddling with his mommy

snoozing on mommaw's lap

listening intently to his grandpa's voice -
isn't he just the most precious child!!?

Then, Susan, Lawrence and the boys came down for the 4th of July weekend...

Winston looooved playing in the sprinkler, clothes and all!

Lewis liked riding different wheels outside

Winston enthralled with mommaw's kaleidoscope collection

getting a kick out of a big ol' high 5 for poppaw!!

More to come tomorrow...

All creatures...

...not so great or small. Ack!! My granddaughter was attacked by a dog -- a huskie/shepherd type -- today!! She's okay, just very sore and shaken.

In her job as a veterinary assistant, she and another staff member were holding the pooch while the vet performed an examination. The beast, apparently taking issue with getting a shot, turned aggressive, escaped its muzzle, and attacked her, biting her left hand. Subsequently, it chased the staff member onto a table top before the owner could be fetched to calm it down! Phew!

She has seven puncture wounds, one of which was rather severe with "stuff" hanging out, and would normally require stitches. Since they don't close up bite wounds with stiches to alleviate infectious bacteria complications, she's all taped, bandaged, and full of antibiotics. She goes back to the doctor on Friday to have it checked. Thank goodness it wasn't worse.

She has such a great attitude. She's always had a passion for animals but fully realizes the risks involved in working with them. While this incident has left her shaken, it has also left her with a determination to just be more cautious in the future. When I asked her if she had any doubts about returning to the job, she said, "oh mommaw, nooooo! It's like riding a bike... when you fall off, you just get back on."

I love this child! :)

Saturday Photo Hunt #5: Memory

MEMORY

There are few surfaces, in and around my home, that these wheels haven't rolled over. Picture, if you will, a tiny little girl, happily loading her babies, stuffed animals, and other treasures into (or on top of) her dolly stroller and taking them all for an afternoon outing.

A leisurely stroll through Mommaw's kitchen, dining room, living room, foyer, and back again to the kitchen, stopping now and then for a friendly chat with the lady of the house, was routine. Or, on nice days, it would be up and down the sidewalk, the driveway, or the street outside, cheerfully waving "hi" to passing neighbors and strangers. 'Round and 'round, back and forth - miles and miles. A vivid imagination and precious, sweet memories live in this little $10 toy.

It stays parked in our garage now, still and empty - with no little girl to fill it full of dollies, and no tiny little hands to come and take it for a walk. If you close your eyes though, and listen real hard, sometimes you can almost hear a little girl giggle and see a blue-haired Madeline dolly ready for her ride ...

That baby girl, my first-born grandchild, turns 21 years old this month. In a few more years her grown-up hands will, no doubt, be pushing a real stroller, loaded with a real baby - and creating a whole new set of memories.

But this stroller, and the memories it holds, will live in my heart forever.

~ ~ ~

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