THE DADDY ON THE BUS SAYS, "I LOVE YOU" written July 3, 2009

A few months ago, I had a little sing-a-long with a class of three year-olds. 

"The Eensy Weensy Spider", also known as "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" was a hit with them. 

I guess when you're three years old, your list of favorite jams is relatively short. 

I had to make sure they had room between them because when they "washed the spider out", they really did swing! 

I would have hated for them to wash out the spider, and knock out their classmate at the same time.

The way they clapped when I started singing "The ABC's" was kind of how I felt when I heard the intro to "Devotion" by Earth, Wind and Fire.

"That's my record!"

Another fav with Ms. Steven's class was "Ring Around the Roses". 

They insisted they could not sing it sitting down, so I admonished them to stand while I tried to figure out how I was going to get up off of the floor. My whole right leg and foot had fallen asleep. 

(Important note to self: Sitting "criss-cross applesauce" for extended periods of time is not for older people.)

Before I left, it was imperative that we sing the immortal "Wheels on the Bus". 

Every time they sang about the driver, I thought about Rosa Parks for some reason. 

We never did agree whether the horn on the bus would beep or toot.

After they'd all frowned up their little faces, deepened their voices as much as they could, pointed their tiny fingers and yelled "The Father on the bus says, Keep that baby quiet! Keep that baby quiet! Keep that baby quiet!", the song was over.

Then Brooklyn, a cherub-faced child, looked up at me and started singing quietly, and in tune, "The daddy on the bus says , I love you, I love you, I love you. The daddy on the bus says, I love you all through the town". 

She kept looking at me as if to say, "Miss Williams, isn't that better?" 

I could feel my heart melting. In Brooklyn's little world, the father on the bus was going to be as gentle, comforting and loving as the mother. We sang the song again--with Brooklyn's edit.

There would be no sour, impatient, bad guy in her song--or mine-- from then on.