Father's Day: Tom Cochrane, Fergie and Madonna

Our weekly trip is always an adventure. Our church is about 30 minutes away from our house. Over the the past year and a half since we started attending our church, Riley has pointed out some staples on the trip that have become highlights that he looks forward to. To name a few:

-haybails
-horses
-cows
-a big bus
-an ambulance

So on this day, our trip to church went pretty much the way it has gone for the last 18 months or so. However, the trip back was a little different and made for a sweet early Father's Day memory for me.

There are two things (among others) that Riley has developed a love for. Singing and the Disney movie "Cars". These two loves have recently converged in the form of a McDonald's Happy Meal toy. Bear with me here. One of the songs (the one he has dubbed as THE "Cars Movie Song") is a Rascal Flatts cover of the 1991 song "Life is a Highway" by Tom Cochrane (a personal favorite of mine back in my early high school days, I'm sure it is on a mix tape somewhere). This song, which obviously is played in the movie, also popped up along with a few other random pop songs on a sample CD Riley got in a Happy Meal from McDonald's.

On this CD, which is called Kidz Bop, a bunch of kids and a wanne be rock star singer perform the Tom Cochrane song, Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry", Daughtry's "Home" and Madonna's "Holiday". It is a very random assortment of pop songs but because it has the beloved "Cars Movie Song", Riley has been asking to listen to this CD often. Today's ride home was one of those instances.

Recently, as Riley has gotten more familiar with the songs, he has "sung" along with them; every "yeah!", "woo!" and even the "gimme gimme gimme gimme, yeah!" from "Life is a Highway". It is a sweet, hilarious and heartwarming experience to listen (because he has forbidden us to sing with him - I guess we disrupt his flow) to him sing.

However, today, he asked both Missy and I to sing with him individually.

So there I was driving home from church, singing a 18 year old song with my two year old son......with tears in my eyes. I can't explain it but there is something beautiful about hearing your child sing. I don't know if it is the realization of hearing/seeing your child express themselves. I don't know if it the cuteness factor of a two year, who is just starting to talk clearly, sing pop songs. I'm not sure but I know that it made it hard for me to get the words out because I was too choked up.

Like most people (especially on Life is a Highway), Riley would sort of mumble the words until he got to a part he knew - "mumumumumumum, life is a highway! Mumumumumumum all night long! Gimme gimme gimme yeah!"

After he got done with "Life is a Highway" for the fifth time, he moved on to Fergie. I don't know how I feel about him singing (at least attempting) "It's time to be a big girl now, and big girls don't cry" but when I heard, "mumumumumum cry!!!!", my heart melted. Even though it was Fergie.

Today's memory is one I will never forget. To sing with my child was a blessing that will stay with me forever.

Thanks for making it a great Father's Day, Riley. If life IS a highway, you made the trip a little sweeter today.