The Rat Pack

Anyone who knows me knows that I love jazz music and Frank Sinatra. Heck, I named my cat Francis Albert Sinatra and at one point had the name-changing paperwork all filled out to legally change my name to Sinatra. In fact, a good chunk of my friends still call me Sinatra.

I don't think there's any question that Sinatra was the the greatest vocalist of all time. He just was. End of discussion.

However, Sammy Davis Jr. often gets the shaft when talking about the Rat Pack. Well, Joey Bishop REALLY gets the shaft since most people have no idea who is is or that he was a member of the Rat Pack... but Sammy Davis Jr. often gets overshadowed by Sinatra and Dean Martin.

Sammy Davis Jr. was one talented man. While I don't think he was as good as Sinatra (vocally), he was still a wonderful singer and a fantastic dancer. He also dealt with a lot of crap for being a black entertainer pre & post Civil Rights, and for marrying a white woman. He suffered a lot for his career - and I really admire him.

Why am I bringing this up? Because I just put Penelope to bed and added a little Sammy Davis Jr. into our lullaby mix. Usually I sing her Sinatra standards, James Taylor songs, and the occasional Joni Mitchell song - but tonight I mixed it up (ok, so there was still a Sinatra song, but Mr. Bojangles was also in the mix).

Our routine at night is (usually) this: Daddy gives her a bath at 7:30 and gets her ready (lotion, p.j.'s, etc) and then he passes her off and I give her the night-time bottle, rock her a little, and sing her to sleep. It's one of my favorite times of the day, and I think she loves it too. After her bottle she twists around so she can snuggle with me (we're tummy-to-tummy) and stares up at me until she drifts off. Love. Love love love.

I really hope that we can continue this routine as my belly gets larger (and as Penny gets larger as well) - and that when New Baby gets here we can incorporate him/her into the rocking and singing routine as well.