sing along....

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 Today I took XK to a child health specialty appointment.  The roads were snowy and the wind was blowing and it was rather treacherous for this middle age mama who hates to drive in bad weather....but I was determined to make this appointment.  We have had some persistent issues that I have been unable to resolve so I was eager to get some advice and suggestion from the specialists.  They did not disappoint.  It was a very satisfying and empowering experience for me and I highly recommend it if you are parenting a child and struggling.  Let me know if you want info.  

XK didn't want to go.  He was scared and it was out of the regular routine and he has been pretty dysregulated overall....so I was relieved when he was able to pull it together and sit well in the car for the hour car ride in the yucky weather.  Wanna know the secret weapon?  Music.  Not just any music, but some vetted tunes that we flushed out as the ones that make him feel happy and safe and able.  This vetting process happened last summer going back and forth to daycare and baseball games, at a time in his life where everything was strange and new and unpredictable....so many changes going on....and there were a few songs he loved on old music CDs and, quite frankly, he wears me down with begging to listen to them over and over and over.  and over.  and over.  So I moved the CDs to the car we could take today with the good tires and all-wheel drive...and we set off for our day.  

We saw 3 bald eagles on our trip there and back.  3!  That's amazing all on its own.  

Once home he wanted to hear "the favorite song" over and over again and Precious and Josiah were more excited to hear the other CDs I had loaded into the mom mobile....so I kept saying no to him....until my last trip out and back for dance lessons.  On the way back home I played his favorite and I listened with fresh ears, in a way that made me think of what he hears when he listens to it, and why, possibly, he loves the song so much.  I'm gonna add a link to the song from You Tube, (I hope)...and you can enjoy it too.  What I heard when I listened to it tonight was upbeat music that talked about changes going on with a solid beat and fast tempo.  It is an interactive song that calls for clapping and stomping and whistling and singing and yelling and twisting.....and there is a part right in the middle that says "now lets bump fists" and I always reach behind the driver's seat and bump fists with the buckeled-in kiddos.  And they think my stearing wheel twist is funny....because it is....and it is a feel-good, happy song that says more than once "God is good and He's in control".....

I don't know if the song-writer is a child psychologist, or a parent, or a therapist....or specializes in trauma or attachment or attunement or music therapy....but in my opinion, it does all of the above.  All of it.  It's genious.  It's free on YouTube.  You are welcome.  

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