In the first few weeks and months of being a new parent, when exhaustion ruled, and sleep was a faraway, lofty goal, I would be up at night with my tiny daughter, doing what I could to try and get her to sleep. Having invested all of my prenatal efforts in preparing the nursery, securing a new car seat, and reading up on infant development — and less in learning lullabys — the two sing-songy pieces I did know soon grew as tired as I was. One early evening, out of nothing more than desperation for something new, I sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” And it worked! Over and over, it worked like a charm, and it grew to be a special shared tune.
To this day, a handful of years later now, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” holds a special place for my daughter and me. I still sing it to her quietly on some nights. Others, she belts it out at Sea Dogs games, unfit for any sort of restful moment. It plays in our car, and sometimes we just sing it for no reason, other than it’s just a special part of our family, because of one random choice on a night of new-parent exhaustion.