Labor of love

Rich and I got home this evening, but both of us forgot to turn off the alarm. About 30 seconds later, I was standing six inches in front of the alarm looking for something in my purse when the siren went off. I screamed, typed in the four digit code to disable it and promptly burst into tears. Rich wrapped himself around me, stroking my hair and saying "shh, kitten, it's okay now" for several minutes before I calmed down.

After all that excitement, the baby was jumping all over the place as my body processed this dump of adrenalin. I curled up in my recliner (which has fast become my favorite piece of furniture ever made - I understand those who wish to be buried in theirs), put on my headphones and nestled down with my iPod to try to mellow out.

And thus my labor mix got its first trial run. I call it a success since it led to a two hour nap in the chair this evening.

Jeremy's mother said she listened to The Band's Music from Big Pink all during her pregnancy with him. Every time I hear The Weight, I think of her in a rocking chair at the farm house with him in her belly.

For your listening pleasure, I offer a sampling of my labor mix. Hopefully it will mellow you out as much as it does me. Because I picked most of these songs for very specific reasons, I'm including a little blurb about them below. But you can also just listen to them all for yourself on the OpenTape Mix - Labor of Love.

Here We Go Again - I listen to a lot of Soul Town on Sirius these days and so many of the songs please me. I imagine that each time a contraction starts up again, I'll hear Ray Charles in my head.

Can't Go Back Now - If you listen to no other song in this mix, please listen to this one. The Weepies are one of my favorite bands. Rich says the lyrics are depressing, but I like how they manage to make crappy things sound pleasant. "I can't really say why everybody wishes they were somewhere else, but in the end the only steps that matter are the ones you take all by yourself."

We'll Be Fine - "Don't worry about us, we'll be fine."

More Time - "Please don't worry now, it will turn around. I need more time. Just a few more months and I'll be fine."

The One Thing I Know - I had a hard time picking which Christine Kane song I wanted. But the refrain is really comforting to me.

Beautiful World - "I like to go out beyond the white breakers, where a man can still be free (or a woman if you are one)."

Into the Mystic - This was my de facto "shitty day" song to make me feel better for several months. And who wouldn't want their gypsy soul rocked?

Down in the Valley to Pray - Doc Watson's voice is wonderful. And this old gospel just could play on repeat in my head for hours and I'd be fine with that. "Come on mothers let's go down in the valley to pray."

The Lucky One - This song used to seem a little bitter to me once, but now I just see it as a light-hearted anthem. "Everything's gonna be alright 'cause you're the lucky one."

Danny's Song - "He will be like him and me, free as a dove. Conceived in love. The sun is gonna shine above."

Let It Be - This is Rich's favorite Beatles song. And this is my favorite cover of it. It's hard not to rally once you get to the second half of it.

April Come She Will - I have no cosmic reason for this song other than it pleases me.

Just Like Heaven - This is about the point I started falling asleep in the chair. When she says "you're just like a dream" I can't help but smile.

Homeless - "Somebody say huh ee huh ee huh ee." That just pleases me.

If you Want to Sing Out, Sing Out - I love Cat Stevens and this is just such a happy song. I can imagine I might want to sing out at some point in this process for some reason or another.

Also, don't forget Sunday October 4 is the deadline for this month's Living Out Loud project where you tell us all about your theme music. I look forward to hearing all about it.

In a few weeks, we may try using ADT to kick start this labor, but for now I'm happy to wait.