Caught Red Handed

The other day Julian fell asleep at Mountainbrook and took a little
nap. This meant, of course, that he couldn't fall asleep on time.
Finally, he learned about how exciting our world is after he goes to
sleep.

In this case, he saw me ironing my scrubs to go to clinicals the next
day. Julian *really* likes steam irons, specifically the steam part.
He Is fascinated by machines that emit smoke, or fire, or steam. This
time, however, he saw past the steam part. His voice was only slightly
accusatory.

"You never iron my clothes!"

Julian as a muse

So, I have had the experience of making less music since my kids were born.  I think this is pretty common.  However, there is a point at which things can turn around...

Lately Julian has been really excited about playing music.  He pulls out his ukelele, which he calls his "guitar" (he knows the difference, he just has redefined it to put it in parallel with my instrument).  He *insisted* that we buy him a case for it (Sam took him in to pick one out).  The two instruments are stored under the reading seat in our living room.

Every day or two he summons me; "Hey dad, let's play some music".

Most recently, while Sam and Jonas were at soccer, we sat facing each other across a copy of Rise Up Singing on the coffee table.  I played through some of my favorites in the "play" section, and he plinked along on his uke, smiling as big a smile as I have ever seen on his face.

What could possibly be a better motivation to get out my guitar again?