Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

http://www.prayerguide.org.uk/stfrancis.htm

On Wednesday, I took off work to take him to the doctor.  He has an ear infection.  After the doctor’s, I brought him to Jeannine’s Cafe on Upper State Street, Santa Barbara.  He had french toast with real maple syrup.  I had a California salad with candied walnuts, mandarin oranges, awesome greens…mmm mmm mmm…did we enjoy that one!

Thursday we were still feeling ill, so I took another day off of work and we just stayed home and rested.  We slept in until 9 am!  We did laundry and then I took him to the park where we played together for about 30 minutes.  We also stopped by the Fiesta Fair at Mackenzie Park and checked it out.  We made a plan to invite one friend on Saturday to attend the fair with us in honor of Dante’s birthday.

Friday I had to go back to work, but Dante stayed at home with my roommate Taymar.  They chilled around the house until noon, then Dante got to do a bunch of stuff I didn’t really want him to be doing since he’s been ill, but he still had a blast.  He saw the parade, went to the beach, and saw some music downtown before coming home and watching a special edition movie Matilda, based on the book by Rhoal Dahl.  Danny Devito (who I don’t particularly like, maybe because he’s so convincing in his roles as sleazy short crude guy) was actually brilliant.  Dante and me both give the movie 5 stars.  For any 6 year olds out there, you’ll love it.

Today – Saturday, we met Dante’s best buddy Dominick and his family (2 other adorable brothers and mon and dad) down at the Fair.  I had stopped by Trader Joe’s and bought a can of whipped cream, strawberries, blueberries, milk chocolate, lemonade boxes, watermelon slices, and Kettle Korn.  I filled the boys’ mouthes with whipped cream in between rides, and always had a tasty snack available.  They loved it!  Dante climbed all the way to the top of the rock climbing “ride”, they jumped on trampolines with bungee lines with awesome 80’s rock blaring, other than it being the heat of the day, we had a rockin’ good time!

Tomorrow is Sunday, we’re having a little get together at Leise & Jason’s house with Caspian, Lily, Michaelangelo, and the adults.  I’m getting a cake at Lazy Acres in the morning.  And I want to tell the children a story of Dante’s life, and how he came to be.  I’m going to put a crown together for him, and a cape, and print out the Waldorf Birthday story so I can learn it and tell it to Dante and the kids before we cut his cake. 

If you’ve never been to a Waldorf birthday celebration, they are wonderful, imbuing a sense of wonder and awe in most children I’ve ever met.  It is seen as a very special time, one in which the children are poingantly focused and aware.  It’s beautiful.  Long live Waldorf education!  Wish Dante was starting First grade at an awesome Waldorf School…

Get yours here… http://herbnites.tripod.com/waldorfinspiredschool/id12.html

My Mother said, I never should
Play with the gipsies in the wood;
If I did, she would say,
You naughty girl to disobey.
Your hair shan’t curl and your shoes shan’t shine,
You gipsy girl, you shan’t be mine.
And my father said that if I did
He’d rap my head with the teapot-lid.
The wood was dark, the grass was green
Along came Sally with a tambourine.
I went to sea – no ship to get across,
I paid ten shillings for a blind white horse.
I up on his back
And was off on a crack,
Sally tell my mother that I shan’t come back.

I believe it’s origins are English.

I couldn’t find a version I liked with the tune so I decided to make a video of myself singing the song I remember as a child.  My 8 year old held the camera.  Um, so yeah, I’m not a singer or anything, and I ain’t frontin’ like I am – I just want to share the tune of this lovely song.

I learned this song as a young girl attending the “Dayspring Waldorf School” in Gainesville, Florida.  I don’t remember who I heard singing it first – my mother, or perhaps another Waldorf teacher.  The melody stayed with me as one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs I can remember.  I didn’t, however, have a knack for listening and learning exact lyrics. So for years, I sang the song to my baby son with made up lyrics (which changed every time I sang them) and the only 3 lines I could remember (highlighted in purple below).  Tonight my laptop happened to be handy as I was singing Dantz to sleep, so I typed in “speed bonnie boat” into Google, and behold!  The full set of lyrics…

If you’d like to hear the song sung, there are some beautiful renditions on Youtube.com:

And many more!
I’ll have to do my own rendition for you on my radio show sometime