Once upon......a......time...

This might be a terrifying thought for some of you but I have children. Three of them. They are amazing people....when met in the right situation.

Getting them into bed is a bit of a hassle. Im generally on bedtimestoryduty. I read to the kids. I enjoy it and Im a big fan of the written word. But what Ive realized is that is a scary gamble. The idea is to get the kids into bed and then have some awake time afterwards. I like to try to squeeze and hour or two of trolling and clicking on OMG! and ROFL Links on facebook (....just kidding). We try to get the kids into bed around 8. So I start with the youngest, he is five and he has ants. Everywhere. So reading to him is about tempo and tone. He gets to choose whatever book he wants. Often the same one as last night.

And I start reading. I love the kid. So we snuggle and I start reading in an exaggerated tone. I do the voices. But as a father of three I have realized this doesnt work. My son is super alert and loves every minute of it. I realize I need a new approach. So after a while it turns into a monotone mumble. No silly voices and sonic explosions. I read slower. I take a deep breath of air between every sentence. I read so slow the sentences fall apart into into nothing. After a while I have no idea what Im reading and my son has no Idea what he is hearing. He falls asleep and Im on the brink of doing the same. 

If I read good stuff like Astrid Lindgren, Tolkien or my Favorite, Roald Dahl its hard not to get excited. The words and colours will lead you there. Its colourful and strong. If I see it in my head its an easy read.  

My middle daughter loved Roald Dahls the Witches. So we were talking one day and she said I "I really love the witches...has he written anything else?" And I said yeah he wrote charlie and the chocolate factory. And she said "...the same guy....? For one guy to be that talented...its just not fair now is it, dad?" and I replied.

" No...it isnt."

Live music is very similar. The reason I like going to shows so much is that it is so immediate. You are there and the band is telling you something. Maybe they are telling the same story they have told a million nights before...Maybe its a couple of old ones and a couple of new ones ....and if the stories are strong they will survive and if they arent....well...But I have this weird romantic vision that if they believe in it and are passionate it will be stronger. If they see it in their heads it will leak thru the speakercones. And then occasionally both me and the band will fall asleep with our eyes open, words dying to the left and right of us, unheard.

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