five lullabies

Ever since my eldest daughter, the Meatball was born 8 years ago, I've sang the same 5 lullabies. Granted, some were probably not composed as lullabies, regardless, I have sung them to my girls as part of their bedtime routine. Depending on my mood (or level of exhaustion from the day) I may sing all 5 of them, I may sing 1 or I may sing one of the songs, thrice (by request). They are all fairly interchangeable and serve a certain purpose.

Throughout the course of my childhood, my Lola (grandmother in Tagalog) lived w/me, the Colonel and Rambo. She would come and live with us for a few years here and there to help my working parents. Her first tour w/me was from ages 2-3. Her second tour was from ages 7-9. Her third tour was probably the longest from ages 12-15. Her final U.S. tour was when I was already in college from ages 18-20. My Lola was my primary caregiver and although I don't recall a particular bedtime routine. I can still remember one verse of a song that she would sing, "Sleep my pretty baby, Mommy's far away..."

And now that my Lola's passed, I wish I remembered more of that song! Sometimes I still find myself humming it in my head, then out loud, trying to search for the next word or the next note, I even tried Googling it once with no luck. I don't even really know if it was a real song or just something she made up. Hence, my girls get the five lullabies. I won't know for a while if good or bad memories transpire from the Spaghetti and Meatball bedtime playlist, but I hope that it will create another fond memory for them. Kind of like how I can remember all the words to a song I hadn't heard since the 8th grade but can't remember what I did yesterday, go figure.

Are there any special parts to your bedtime routine?

P.S. In case I've piqued your curiosity, here are Spaghetti and Meatball's bedtime playlist courtesy of YouTube:

1) Lea Salonga's rendition of The Rainbow Connection - One of the first albums I ever owned was Lea Salonga's "I Am But A Small Voice".  I have no idea why I selected this song, but nonetheless a great role model for my girls. (note: the little girl in the YouTube video is not Lea Salonga)




2) Edelweiss from the movie, The Sound of Music - Again, one of the first musicals I watched religiously on the Betamax.




3) Redemption Song - Bob Marley - Because it's never too early to have a little Bob in your life.




4) So Long, Farewell from the movie, The Sound Of Music - I don't know why I have two Sound Of Music songs!





5) If We Hold On Together from the movie, The Land Before Time - Although I don't ever remember this song from the movie (or the movie itself, actually), it was one of the songs sung at PCN (Pilipino Culture Night) during my college days.