on the power of song.

i sang "i love to tell the story" in the kitchen this evening. i was doing the dishes; josie was supposed to be sleeping in her crate. instead, she proceeded to make quite a fuss. and so, as i loaded the dishwasher, i began to hum.

i had deja vu almost instantly. don't you love how music does that? i knew without a doubt that i had hummed that very song before, even with the same intent - to bring full-bodied calm to myself and to the ones who could hear me.

it took me a while to figure it out. when i did, though, there i was: walking rows across a foyer in canada with a five-week-old treasure on my shoulder, measuring our breaths to the phrases of melody. listening to her siblings upstairs in their beds and baths. and the same, full, joyous calm.

it's a good memory. i'll have to sing that song more often. :)