April 29, 2011
Haiku My Heart is a creation by Rebecca who pens the recuerda mi corazon blog. Check it out HERE for more Haiku and find out how to participate.
NOTE: As I went to link my Haiku My Heart offering, I found out about the passing of a wonderful soul. An artist, a healer, a wonderful wise human being. I have shared many a thought with her as we both loved the Great Lake Superior and, in fact, all the great lakes.
Deborah Gilchrist, may she rest in Peace
Most every day I play a little game with my charges. The two middle Grandkids. The older 13 year old leaves for school an hour earlier and the younger 4 year old is taken to day care. I am left hanging with the 7 and 11 year old. I help with breakfast and make sure they have their school backpacks ready to go, boots or shoes, jacket and what-not.
The game is about whether or not I will drive them to school. They know I like to go to the Dish and the Spoon Cafe. They also know I usually leave right after their school bus takes them away. They are so smart that they know I drive right near their respective schools and can easily give them a ride. We tease and leave the actual verbal instructions of, "Okay, go get in the van, I'll give you a ride this morning." until the last possible moment. All with smiles and laughing.
A side bar to this little game is that we pick a song to sing every day as we drive the few minutes it takes to get to Rocky Branch and River Falls Public Montessori. This was started by me just picking a song and singing it. Through repetition, they learned the words. Lately, we have hammered out "Rockin' Robin" ad nauseum, but the past has seen great hits like "16 Tons" and Shirley Ellis' famous "Name Game".
You haven't heard nuthin' like a six year old little girl beltin' out "I got one fist of iron, the other of steel, if the right one don't get ya, the left one will"
The other day, tiring of Rockin' Robin, we wanted a new song to sing. No one had an immediate idea. I told the kids I'd write a song and that I'd done that in the past. The first lines turned out to fit, in syllables, what I have been doing on Fridays here at Haiku My Heart. So, here are the first lines of a new song we'll be learning and singing on our way to school from Spadoville.
Black Crow talk to me
Teach me how to fly, make me
A dot in the sky
The black crows make a racket most mornings around here all year long. What are they saying? What do we want to say to them? Their speech sounds like complaining, but surely they can't be that curmudgeonly. Maybe they're answering our age old questions or telling us how it is to be able to fly. Okay, so maybe there are some complaints about the scraps left near the trash cans. Maybe they're out of bourbon. I know one crow that drinks nothing but Remy Martin Cognac.
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| Please drink in moderation, don't drink and fly. |
So, here are a few possible verses for our new song:
Black Crow talkin’ to me
Tell me what you see
Black Crow talk to me
Teach me how to soar in the sky
With the buzzards and the eagles up high
Make me a dot in the sky
Show me the way to go home
Wake up the neighborhood
Don’t leave me alone
Black Crow talk to me
Share with me what you see
Share with me what yer talkin' about
Let me see from way up high
Show me the secret, teach it to me
Let me fly away home
Let me tell you, there are not many better ways to spend part of an hour in the morning than singing with children. So many times, we play yet another game. As we sit around the table at dinnertime. One of the little ones starts it off by asking, "What's your favorite part of the day?" The question goes around the table and each person tells all what that event might be.
When it comes to me, my answer often is, "Driving the kids to school this morning."
Peace to all
14 comments:
This is a fine, fine haiku, Spadoman, and a fun, fun song. I'm so glad you enjoy singing with your "young charges" in the morning. What a great way to start the day!
Love the Black Crow song.I have pondered what they are telling us in their murder of hundreds many a time...
How blessed you all are to have that singing and sharing time together each day. Sweet life moment...
May your weekend be filled with them too, Man. Happy Friday !
What a wonderful post! I love the games that you play with your grandchildren - it makes me remember singing a ton with my Kindergarteners. I love that you're writing the 'Black Crow' song for them. What special memories you're making for everyone involved!
Your story makes my heart joyful. Your song makes me happy. I want to sing it with you.
Oh, joe, I love your stories and the moments you share with these girls. It is these times that they will always remember. I can recall singing in the car with my sister. My mother would always join in with us. We would also play word games around the table at dinner rather than watch television. I think that children gain such a sense of stability from these priceless connections with elders and you are clearly one. Here is a link to a song about Black Crow by Joni Mitchell, one of my favorites.
http://jonimitchell.com/music/song.cfm?id=24
Peace.
Your post touches my heart deeply. I wish I could give you winds in real life. But the best I can do is add them to your photo. I also can see you have real wings in your heart. Many blessings sent your way. E
Sigh....what a GREAT story! I am envious of your grandkids to have this experience with their grandfather everyday. You are building really good memories for them and teaching them a legacy.
I know that would be my favorite part of the day-driving my grandkids to school.
Hi Joe,
Black crows are special for us, we have a family of them living nearby, they were here before us when our cottage was just a ruin, they used to wake us up early in the morning chipping at our newly painted windows. We've got into the habit of feeding them the dogs leftovers (ours are fussy eaters!) They haven't chipped the windows in a longtime, guess they've accepted us as part of the family!
Happy singing,
love Ms Foxy
hmmmm, my comment was eaten...perhaps by the crows.
wanted to tell you how much I enjoy this post and how very lucky your grandkids are...they will carry these memories with them their entire lives.
x..x
dear joe,
i love this POST!!!! you are flooding me with memories of my son as a young young boy. all those long drives to school and the songs we would share all the way. the radio did not work on the car...so every song came out of memories. i have to say when adrian was a bit older we were in a newer car with a working radio. a beatles song came on the radio and my son turned to me with absolute amazement " mom, their singing YOUR song!!!"
he actually though i had created every song.
i love your heart and your family so firmly rooted in all you do.
Wow--make that two people who had their posts consumed by the Moof Monster. Geeze.
<-- would like to know the tune to sing by tyvm
And since you're a seasoned granparent and I'm new at this gig, I'll borrow some of this good stuff...giving credit where credit is due, of course. The Bug will reap the rewards--and there's no greater gift than to bring to the life of a child. (so says ME...LOL...not that I know all that much)
I always like trapping the kiddos in the car and making them my excuse to sing funky songs. You mean I get MORE of that?!?!
Wooooohooooo!!!!!
Our family belts out "Michael rowed the boat ashore... Hallelujah."
We each take turns making up a second verse then all together with the chorus "Hal-le-lu-ooo-jah." Hilarious.
I love your crow verses but more than that all of the time you spend with your family is the BEST!
I absolutely love imagining your 6 year old granddaughter singing 16 Tons. I was a great idea teaching them songs to sing on the drive to school rather than the usual device of turning on a radio. People don't realize how much they lose by allowing disinterested third party entertainment/advertising to fill all the spaces in their lives.
I told Crow about the honorable mention he got on your blog. He was most charmed by the notice and reiterated your advice that flying and drinking are not compatible endeavors. However, there's no harm in a nice piece of fruitcake.
Your song lyrics are excellent.
I really love that black crow song.
I have just spent the day with my littlest grandchild and my heart is still singing with the pleasure of being the cause of hers.
There are times when it's pure joy to be laughed at :)
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