The Cherry Song

I gave my love a cherry...the origin of the name of this blog.

"The Cherry Song", also called "The Riddle Song", is a 15th Century English lullaby. Steph's mom used to sing it to her when she was a little girl. Sometimes Steph would sing it to me late at night before we went to sleep. Now we sing it to our daughter, Ruth. Here are the words as I learned them (when I went to do some research on the song, I found multiple versions of the lyrics):

I gave my love a cherry that had no stone.
I gave my love a chicken that had no bone.
I gave my love a baby with no crying.
I gave my love a story that had no end.

How can there be a cherry that has no stone?
How can there be a chicken that has no bone?
How can there be a baby with no crying?
How can there be a story that has no end?

A cherry when it's blooming, it has no stone.
A chicken in the egg, it has no bone.
A baby when its sleeping, has no crying.
The story of our love, it has no end.

I'm not quite sure what I want this blog to be, but I feel like there needs to be some sort of documentation that I can look back on and that possibly Ruthie can look back on one day. Every day of parenting brings new emotions and lessons with it, but time goes by so quickly (though I admit that at times the days/nights feel very long) and I already have trouble remembering Ruth's very first days on this earth. The actual birth I remember pretty clearly (and hope to write about), but the four days and three nights we spent in the hospital are mostly a blur.

Photo: A blooming cherry tree in Sherwood Gardens. I believe I took that photo in 2011. We were having a luxurious weekday picnic with Jess and Mike. I can't wait to take Ruthie to Sherwood Gardens this Spring. Lots of great photo opportunities, plus who doesn't love a weekday picnic in the park.