Raise your hand if you've ever taken a psychology course of
any kind. Doesn't really matter to me if it was in high school or college.
**counting hands**
Sorry to make you all do that. I just had to make certain my
reader base was going to understand the advanced psychological studies I'm
fixing to lay down. After all, I did successfully complete four weeks of a 13-week
psychology course during my Freshman year of college. If that seems a little
short, it's because my teacher got a wicked bad case of shingles and cancelled
every class for the remainder of the trimester.
Anyway, the one psychological principle that still remains
with me today happens to be the study of Pavlov's dog. For those that may be
unenlightened, there was once this guy named Pavlov who had a dog. Pavlov decided
to teach the dog to anticipate a treat every time he heard a bell ring. Then
one day, Pavlov didn't give the dog a treat when he rang the bell. Instead he
just watched excess saliva ooze out of the poor dog's mouth. And now you know
the study of Pavlov's dog.
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| No other dog's going to want to eat that after Fido's drooled all over it. |
I've honestly been conducting an experiment of my own on
Ellie throughout her life inspired by my study of Pavlov's dog. Although this
experiment wasn't designed to make her drool excessively as she already does
that well enough on her own. Instead this experiment was simply designed to
make her associate the sound of music with safety.
This experiment began many, many moons ago as an
accompaniment to Ellie's bathtime. After quite the long process of sifting
through music, we discovered Ellie responded most favorably to two albums:
Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix and its companion album, Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix, Vol. 2. I know you're probably wondering just how good
(and child-friendly) the soundtrack to a super hero movie (and its sequel) can
be. Follow along for a bit longer.
First of all, these albums are comprised not of painful
instrumental scores but instead of some of the best of 70's and early 80's rock
anthems. 'Hooked on a Feeling', 'Spirit in the Sky', 'Mr. Blue Sky',
'Surrender', 'Escape', 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough', 'Fox on the Run', and
many, many others. In other words, not
your normal children's fare.
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| Plant child dancing to music, not the same as human child. |
I have been long aware of Ellie's enjoyment of these albums.
However, I didn't necessarily know how much so until this past weekend when Bethany
and I partook in our annual pilgrimage to Illinois to see Ellie's Uncle Ryan.
Now, when I say pilgrimage, I mean pilgrimage as the trip takes at least six
hours. Needless to say, entertaining Ellie was a concern of ours on this trip
so we packed a bag of toys and books accordingly. On a complete whim as we
headed out the door, I also made a quick u-turn to grab my iPod before leaving.
Fast forward a couple of hours as Ellie is beginning to get
fussy. Bethany has pretty much exhausted all resources at hand for the time
being. Therefore, it's time to break out the big guns, a.k.a. the Awesome Mix.
As the first "Ooga-Chaka" of 'Hooked on a Feeling' blast through the
speakers, Ellie's fussy nature immediate subsides, replaced by head-bobbing and
dancing. Between the remainder of our trip there and back, we listened to the
26-song Awesome Mixes at least three times each.
Now, I should add that the Awesome Mix doesn't just work in
the car. We've tested this theory at home during some of Ellie's worst moments
and have seen similar results. I guess I owe James Gunn, the director of
'Guardians' a hearty thank you for his work in assuring our daughter's
happiness.
However, that being said, I should also probably yell at him
for both Bethany and me having songs from the Awesome Mix constantly playing on
repeat in our heads all the live long day. "Mommy's alright, daddy's
alright, they just seem a little weird. Surrender, surrender, but don't give
yourself away, ay, ay, ay."
#DaddyWrite
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