As infants neither one of my children were big on the whole "sleeping" thing, and the nighttime routine was always an exercise in patience and understanding. Making it even more taxing, was the fact that apparently, at the time, I was married to a woman who possessed neither of these traits, leaving the task of putting the children to bed squarely on the shoulders of yours truly.
After countless trials, errors, and bottles I quite by accident found myself rocking my screaming son in the middle of the night and subconsciously singing a song under my breath. As I rocked and hummed and sang, it got quieter and quieter, and his eyes kind of smiled as they lazily started shutting, and soon he was asleep. That song? "St Judy's Comet" by Paul Simon. From that day forward, any time I was having a hard time getting him down, I'd put that song on his radio, and he'd be asleep within minutes. I tell him about this story anytime the song comes on in the car or in passing and he says he doesn't remember it. It's funny though, because sometimes I swear I see a flicker of recognition in his face when I look in the rear-view and see his eyes smiling as he hums the song note for note, not even realizing he's doing it.
Anyway, this is for you son. I love you. Happy birthday Buddy...
-Daddy
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