childhood – Betsy Schow

U is for Unicorn

This is a new fascination for my little one. If you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up, it’s a unicorn. Specifically she wants to be Celestia from My Little Ponies.

Do you remember a time in your life when you wanted to be something like a unicorn, and it totally made sense to you. The world had yet to beat you down and shove you into a little labeled box. Infinite possibilities. Unfortunately, reality seems to seep in younger and younger.

So when my daughter dreams of being a unicorn, I don’t tell her they don’t really exist. I ask her what color hair she’s going to have and what they eat for lunch. I want her to enjoy that magic for as long as she can grasp it with both hands.

L is for Lullaby

My favorite part of the day when my girls were little, was bedtime. Not only because the little beasts were going to sleep, but because of our lullaby ritual.

I would swaddle my baby and sit in the rocking chair and sing a song or two until there little eyes were nice and droopy. Sometimes I would sing Twinkle Twinkle, or Rock a Bye Baby. But I had a favorite lullaby for each girl that is a little… different. I figured, hey they don’t know what the heck I’m saying. As long as it’s low and soothing I could sing the phonebook.

So for my oldest, my favorite tune was Death Cab for Cutie’s I”ll follow you into the dark.

For my little one is was the Smith’s Sing me to sleep.

To this day I get misty eyed when I hear those songs on the radio. They remind me of a time that was precious, crazy, and worth every minute.

What did you sing to your little ones?