Music you can laugh to.

We make up lots of songs around here. They sort of serve as an original sound track for life. I have to confess, though, the main reason I like to do this is Jacob.

A couple nights ago we were about to eat dinner, but he was having a little strong-willed moment and refusing to sit. So I pulled out his chair and started “singing.” Before I share the song, I should mention the rules regarding our compositions.

1. The melody must meander.
2. The words must make Jacob laugh.
3. Um, that’s about it.

So, this is what I sang:

“Shuffle on up to the TAYYY-BULLL, and sing a song about grapes!”

He sat, scooted toward the table, and stared at the bowl of grapes. Then he grinned and sang a line from Veggie Tales. “We’re the grapes of wrath, we never take a bath.”

I continued. “Shuffle on up to the TAYYY-BULLLL, and sing a song about plates!” (Note: Obviously you can’t imagine the tune or phrasing. If you’d like to use this ditty at your house, the most important characteristics to remember are to drag out the word “table” and clip the last word short.)

Jacob scooted even closer, stared at his plate and laughed. “I don’t know a song about plates.”

Me: “Shuffle on up to the TAYYY-BULLL, and sing a song about . . .”

And so it goes. With every verse he scooted closer to the table, simply because the song said to. Jacob is the best sport on the planet.

Another fun activity is dancing with Jacob. This consists of me holding both his hands and flailing and gyrating (if there’s no music, I provide that, too) while he laughs and tries to escape. Buckets o’ fun! We also have an end-of-movie-credits-rolling routine. I bust sweet moves to whatever music is playing, while he imitates a sphinx. He stares stone-faced at the screen, trying hard to pretend he can’t see me, and trying even harder not to laugh. So far he’s never succeeded.

Everyone should have an audience like Jacob. The only real down side is the exaggerated view one develops of one’s own wit and comedic talent. I’m afraid if we took our show on the road, it wouldn’t get too far. Better to just keep it in the family, where love and acceptance are guaranteed. Where laughter can be induced with nothing more than a mischievous gleam in the eye. And where you can experience profound delight when you simply shuffle on up to the tayyy-bulll, and sing a song about grapes!