The Important Things in Life

Every once in a while, it's important to step back and look at the really important things in life.

Today, that is Liam. (Not me, the younger one).

Tomorrow, Liam turns 13 weeks old. Today, he gave me a great present. Those who know me know I am an avid singer. I love singing to/with the kids and all four of the older ones generally enjoy my singing and often like to sing with me.

Liam... isn't really making much noise yet. Not surprising, he is only just reaching three months old. He's only just starting to learn that he can make noises through his mouth instead of back in his throat through his nose.

So, I came home, and he was in a happy mood. He looked at me and grinned, which is a present in itself, all the more so because he's been a bit wary of me since Sunday, when I shaved my winter beard into my rest-of-the-year van dyke (what most people mistakenly call a goatee), and this is the first time since then that he's looked directly at me and smiled. (The first time he saw me on Sunday, he cried. Since then, he'll smile but not look at me, or look at me but get a concerned look on his face.)

So anyway, since he was in such a good mood, I sat down with him and started singing to him. The Alphabet song, Where Have All the Flowers Gone, Londonderry Aire (Danny Boy) and Puff the Magic Dragon. Shortly into the first song, he started cooing along with me. As I continued to sing, he continued cooing, clearly trying to move his mouth with mine and attempting as best he could to modulate his tone.

He's a baby, of course, so it takes quite a leap of faith to call what he was doing "singing", and yet I'm going to take that leap. I could see in his eyes that he was watching me, enjoying me, trying to do everything I did, and just as pleased as pie that he was making noise. I'm not sure he knows that there was any difference between his singing and mine.

I'll go back to ranting about politics later, perhaps even later tonight. For right now, I'm just going to sit and enjoy the first time my baby boy ever sang with me.

Liam, the elder.