Thursday, July 15, 2010

Music to my ears...

In the continuing saga of "I want to be exactly like my big brother",  Riley lamented recently that he doesn't have his own mp3 player. It is of course useless to point out that Derek only has one because I upgraded mine, and passed on the little iPod Shuffle I didn't need anymore. It also makes absolutely no difference whatsoever--at least in his mind--that Riley is 3 years younger than Derek...when you're the second child, you see what's out there, and by golly, you want some of that cool stuff too!

So we'll probably get Riley his own inexpensive music player for his 7th birthday next month. Then I'm sure both he and Derek will thoughtfully provide me with handwritten lists of the songs they want me to download from iTunes. (They don't seem to be aware that this actually costs money...or they don't care because it's Mom's phantom credit card that makes it all magically happen for them!) Some of the latest selections have included Lady Gaga, Taio Cruz, Jason Derulo, and Iyaz. But I'm just a little concerned about what Riley will be requesting, since he boldly announced the other night that "my favorite singer is: Fergie!" Oh, really? I couldn't actually quiz him any further about just why he likes her, since Derek was rolling around on the floor gasping "Fergie...FERGIE!" in between bouts of giggling. However, the immediate effect of this proclamation has been that they now both walk around the house shouting "Imma Be...a monkey! Imma Be...your BUTT! etc., etc." (Sigh.)

There is one huge bright spot to this silliness, though...last night Riley had borrowed my player, and both boys were lying on my bed listening to their own tunes. And it was profoundly calm. For that blessed period before bedtime, there was no nonsensical chattering, no arguing, no talking loudly over each other, no poking or tackling or wrestling...and if that's how music tames the savage beasts, then let me just say: mp3 player: $60; music downloads: $30; a few minutes of peace and quiet: PRICELESS!!!!

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