Lullabies

At the risk of sounding like a broken record...todays synopsis would be described as expending every effort to try to put Pender to sleep. This is a common theme in our daily schedule. Especially since a week ago he decided that he was going to boycott the pacifier he has used since birth. At one point this afternoon I even reverted to the surprising method that worked like a charm last week on the way to pick up Zayne from pre-school. Every detail had been anticipated and prepared in order to set the stage for Pender falling asleep in the car on the way there (changed, fed, nursed, etc.) So as we were driving along listening to the smooth methodical xanax induced voices so familiar to NPR, I figured their hypnotic rhythmic chatter would lull him to sleep. Instead, my 8 month old gained an energy surge from listening to an interview about fonts. Seriously? Fonts. Even I was stifling yawns, and I like writing, & fonts! But it is one thing to visually explore the typeface, and quite another to listen to someone drone on about Times in New Roman via a radio program at 1:45 in the afternoon. Spurred by boredom and necessity to prevent myself from falling asleep at the wheel, I changed the channel to a local rock station. I recognized the opening chords of Metallica's Enter Sandman. I turned it up, and started to sing. As I reached the chorus "Exit light, enter night. Take my hand, we're off to never-never land", I realized that the chatter from the backseat had ceased and as I checked in the mirror, and there was Pender, eyelids fluttering, and slipping into sleep. I thought since he adamantly opposed AC/DC the other day, and finds Rage Against the Machine intolerable, that he had completely vetoed moms hard rock. That was when I smiled in loving realization that my little Pender is just a purist when it comes to his metal mix. And this wasn't just his attempt to escape the music by submitting to sleep. He proved this as he and I were driving home from my birthday dinner. Metallica (King Nothing) came on and he was smiling and singing happily while banging his hands to the beat. Like I said. Metal purist. I love that boy..."say your prayers little one, don't forget my son, to include everyone..."