lullaby

Long time no talk to! And it would have been even longer, since I am buried under a major contract for a few more weeks, except that I took a 10 minute break tonight.

As I stood in my kitchen eating a piece of toast, the sound of a lullaby that I used to sing to my babies wafted to my ears. Frozen for a moment, I realized that my next door neighbor was singing and playing his guitar, and the music was passing right through the walls. It sounded as if he was in my living room, performing just for me.

Incidentally, he's a quietly quirky guy who told me in the one conversation I've had with him over the fence that he has lived here since they built this complex in 1985. Every morning he leaves for work at exactly 6:20, and has been with the same employer for over 30 years. He's never home during the day, does laundry almost every night, (I hear the washer and dryer through the walls, too), and now, I learn, has an incredible singing voice, and a musical taste that I very much appreciate.

The song, You Can Close Your Eyes, was on a tape of lullabies that has since been passed along to another mother. I sang it for hours and hours as I walked the floor with each of my children, as well as the many babies I have cared for over the years. To this day, I'm not sure if I sang more for myself or the little one. Most of the time, we both needed comforting.

So tonight, I surrendered to a few nostalgic tears. Then I went googling, and learned that it's a James Taylor song. Here's Sting singing it in tribute. He starts singing at the 2:05 minute mark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X2Y4VCa3qE&feature=related
Back to work. See you in a week or two.

:)k