There is something kind of funny about pictures of babies crying. Okay, not all babies. Maybe I should have said there’s something funny about pictures of first-world babies crying. Because you can relax in the knowledge they have their basic needs met and just laugh at their ridiculousness, you know? I love how even situations as intense as childbirth can seem comical later on.
I wrote recently about the dinosaur CD Nate and I are so sick of hearing. Nate walked into the living room this morning saying “If I keep singing that ‘Footprints’ song to myself, I’m gonna go nuts.” Clearly it’s time for that item to take a little nap in the closet of missing/broken things. Do you have a closet like this in your house? It’s the one that you keep the stuff you plan to fix some day but haven’t gotten round to yet; it also houses the parts that you can’t figure out but don’t want to throw away. For us parents, it additionally includes the toys you can’t stand to see for one more second.
And so, back into the music rotation is an oldie but a goodie, called ‘Mary had a Little Amp.’ I got it for Vivi when she was a baby, and interestingly it was just about the only music she would fall asleep to in a long car trip. The wonderful thing about this album is that even after listening to it on a continuous three-hour loop while driving to Birmingham, I still didn’t want to throw it out the window.
One of my favorites on it is Bonnie Raitt’s rendition of “Baby Mine.” Remember that song from Dumbo? It’s in the scene everyone gets choked up watching when the mommy elephant rocks her baby from inside the jail cell. I can’t even write that without becoming verklempt! Talk amongst yourselves; I’ll give you a topic. Cheez whiz is neither a cheese nor a wizard. Discuss.
Baby mine, don’t you cry.
Baby mine, dry your eyes.
Rest your head close to my heart,
Never to part,
Baby of mine.
Little one when you play,
Don’t you mind what they say.
Let those eyes sparkle and shine,
Never a tear,
Baby of mine.