Sometime last summer, my assistant began to send out emails with “singing out” in the subject line. It was just a simple typo; she was letting everyone know she was signing out for the day when no one was around to see her leave. My boss thought this typo was pretty funny, and I also enjoyed the image of a grown woman singing about her day as she shut down her computer, picked up her purse, and turned out the lights behind her. It was very Disney—or Mr. Rogers. Although, to be honest, I have sung a little song as I shut down my computer, picked up my bag, and turned the lights out behind me at the end of a work day before, so it didn’t ever seem that odd to me.
At the same time Romny was “singing out” on a regular basis, Simon began an interesting habit himself: When we’d put him down for naps or for bed, we’d hear him talk softly to himself. Usually, the talking was very sing-songy and featured lots of “da-da-da”s or “ooooooooh”s. Evie began to suspect Simon was singing to himself on occasions when his caretakers were not, and I began to think that my assistant and son were both “singing out” at the end of their days.
Flash forward about six months, and Simon still sings out pretty often. Only now it typically happens when he’s getting sleepy. We can tell it’s bedtime or naptime when he begins to nestle his head into our neck, when he quite literally folds himself over while sitting, and when he begins to make soft singing sounds to himself. It’s pretty adorable, and often leaves me in a mood to nap or snuggle under the covers myself.