When I'm not reciting poetry in an attempt to get Anna to sleep, I'll often sing her a lullaby. I don't know too many, and much of what my mother used as bedtime songs were actually melodic folk-songs from a time gone by. One lullaby I remember is the "Russian Lullaby", which Anna requests as "wush-a-lullaby." According to Google, the words are by Irving Berlin and are a bit different from the lyrics I know, but I wanted to share with you how Anna's bedtime version of this song usually goes.

Every night you'll hear it's croon"

"That's a funny word, Mommy." Anna giggles

the Russian Lullaby
It's such a plaintive little tune
when baby starts to cry

"Why is the baby crying, Mommy?"
"Um, I think she wanted her Mommy or Daddy to hold her."

hush a bye my baby

"Did she find her Mommy? Where was she?"
"Shh, Anna. Do you want me to sing, or not?"

somewhere there maybe
a land that's free
for you and me
and the Russian Lullaby

"Again, Mommy. Again."

It's a beautiful song that sounds better when my three year old doesn't interrupt every other line, although I think it sounds fine that way too. This lullaby is also a song from a time gone by. But the idea remains the same. We, as parents, hope for a better future for our children, and want to give them hope. As we look forward to Passover and with it the theme of Freedom, it's only appropriate that we take a look at our lives - our family's life and see how far we have come, and how far we have yet to go. What role can I play in helping another person reach the freedom that I know and cherish in my life? How can I help someone find a land that's "free for you and me?" A simple bedtime song says it all.