Singsong trickery is my finest parenting tool. I can make a song about any single thing, at any moment. The other night, I was singing to my little feverish son, comfortably charming him toward sleep, when he turned toward me and coughed into my open mouth.
What does true love feel like?
Lots of things, but in that moment, it was the feeling of pretending nothing had happened. I finished my song, tucked him in, and went on about my freshly inoculated business. I did take extra vitamin C that night. (It did not work.)