Wally’s a happy baby, but a couple of months ago, he was fussy in the car. This wasn’t too unusual though, because, after all, he was only four months old. Hana was in the driver’s seat, so I attempted to reach back and comfort Wally. Nothing worked, and his noise level rose.
“I’m going to try something,” Han said, turning on music. “Steve sings this song to him.” The next thing I knew, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)” was playing. Later, I looked up the words on Google, and this is how it starts:
“Weeheeheehee dee heeheeheehee weeoh aweem away/Weeheeheehee dee heeheeheehee weeoh aweem away. In the jungle, the mighty jungle/The lion sleeps tonight/In the jungle the quiet jungle/The lion sleeps tonight.”
Hana and I smiled a little. I wasn’t expecting this song, and the tune and words seemed random and out of context. Suddenly, Wally’s crying stopped. I turned and looked – Wally was quietly looking out the car window and appeared to be listening to the song. We still had a few minutes until we were at their house when “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” ended, and another song started.
Wally started making some unhappy noises, and I said, “Try that song again.” Understandably, Hana was reluctant to let, “Weeheeheehee dee heeheeheehee weeoh aweem away,” go through her head the rest of the day with repeated listening.
But I persisted. “Just one more time – let’s see if it helps him again.” Han replayed the song, and – amazing – Wally stopped fussing.
Wally likes music, but he recognized that song because his dad sang it to him. I love that and don’t want to forget that incredible moment in the car. More importantly, I want Wally to know about it.
I see all the ways his parents show their great love for him – like how Hana tells him she knows it’s hard being a baby when he’s having a rough time, or how Hana and Steve have figured out the funny way Wally likes to go to sleep in their arms best. It’s beautiful.
Between now and the time he can appreciate these stories though, a lot is going to happen. So I’m jotting down some of these things because I want to contribute to the stories Wally is told. I want him to hear again how special and loved he is by his parents, his grandparents, and all of his family.
There are so many ways to write about moments:
- Hana writes to Wally in a Moleskine journal, similar to the journal her dad wrote in about her when she was a baby.
- I type thoughts about Wally and his cousin Kai in separate computer files for each. (When I told Kai about it last year, he said, “Put this in your file too….” and told me some things to add!)
- My grandmother gave me a weekly planner when I first got married. It had space for a few lines each day and is the same idea as Five Year Journals available today.
- My friend keeps track of little things her sweet two-year-old says on a phone app called Diarium. It is set up like a calendar, and each space has a place to write and add pictures. She loves how easy it makes things.
- Another friend and her family have written memories and quotes on some of the cards in a large, old library card catalog. She also describes moments while she cooks with small notes, written by recipes in one of her cookbooks.
- My mom used to write the year’s highlights around my birthday each year when I was growing up.
Truly, whatever works for a person is the best way.
The other day, before they left to go home, Hana and Steve did a little dance with Wally in my kitchen. It wasn’t a good time to whip out the phone and take a picture, but later, I wrote a little note to him. Hopefully, someday, I can tell him about it.