Do You Hear What I Hear?
I was listening to the “Twenty Miler” playlist on my iPod while waddle jogging on the treadmill the other day. The compilation is an energetic mélange of 49 songs intended to help me through the long runs of marathon training last fall. As I listened to the Foo Fighters, “But Honestly”, I wondered if the baby was tapping along to the beat. Or if he/she could tell that I get a burst of energy when Guster’s “The Captain” comes up. Or if Toph’s son/daughter has any idea how many times he listened to #15, The Dropkick Murphy’s “Shipping Up to Boston” while he trained to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I wonder if Baby listens as intently as I do to the lyrics of “Have You Ever” by Brandy Carlile (“Have you ever wandered lonely through the woods? And everything there feels just as it should. You’re part of the life there. You’re part of something good. If you’ve ever wandered lonely through the woods. Have you ever stared into a starry sky? Lying on your back you’re asking why. What’s the purpose I wonder who am I. If you’ve ever stared into a starry sky.”).
I speculate about what the baby can hear all day every day actually.
Does she/he hear Topher and me laughing with each other? Does Baby know when Nana and Pop or Grammy and Poppy call to check in on how he/she is growing? Or when my girlfriends call with good advice for pregnancy foibles or registry conundrums?
I wonder if Baby can hear Topher’s impressively accurate imitation of the Villanova band horn section basketball game medley.
Can Baby hear his/her cousins, Helen, Michaela and Olivia when they put their faces right up close and talk through my belly button? Did he/she hear when Michaela said she was going to be the babysitter and change all the diapers?
I hope of my internal monologues, the joyful ones full of anticipation are more audible than those riddled with quiet worries.
Can Baby hear us read a book to him/her? Does he/she know when we are saying good morning and good night?
Baby, do you hear what I hear?
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
January 9th, 2010 at 6:35 pm
Loved this post! So sweet.
p.s. Stealing some of your songs you mentioned. If you have any other favs, please send them for the day I get back out running with a double Bob. I’ll need the motivation!
January 10th, 2010 at 2:30 am
I swear, they DO hear. A minute after Benjamin was born, he turned his head toward me when I talked, then turned his head toward my husband when he talked. It really seemed that he knew our voices already (or at least some muffled version…)
January 10th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
This post is just so…dear. I don’t know if I have a better word to capture just how sweet and tender it is (you’re the writer, after all), but it just IS. Beautifully done, my friend. Your baby is lucky indeed.