Theme songs

When I was a kid, I was sure that one of my dad's primary goals in life was to embarrass me.

Now it's my turn. I love to sign pointless songs. When one of the kids is pouting, I sing the 'Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, guess I'll go eat worms...'

If it's morning and I'm trying to get them to wake up, I'll sing 'Good Morning, George' from the Veggie Tales. I've been doing that song since TJ was a baby. I even found the song on iTunes. When I turn it on, the kids can't help but sing along.

When things are quiet, I'll break out with Winnie the Pooh's 'I'm just a little black rain cloud'.

But my all-time favorite is the theme song to 'Bonanza'. It has nothing to do with the TV show. I don't think I've ever watched a full episode. I just love the music. All of my children and most likely, all of my nieces and nephews have taken horsey rides on my leg while I sang the Bonanza song. The other day, I discovered it was on YouTube. There's the instrumental version (which I prefer) and a version by Lorne Greene where he is singing a lot of lyrics. Too challenging for me! So now I can turn on the music and 'sing' along while I gather up laundry. TJ never knows whether to laugh or look disgusted.

My kids may think I'm nuts, but it makes me happy to sing. Especially when I'm trying to motivate them or cheer them up. And I can tell you, it's not nearly as embarrassing as having your dad pull over to the side of the road to retrieve one empty pop can and then doing a victory dance while confused motorists drive by. Trust me. I lived through that.