W is for Work, Work, Work

When I was in high school, I used to babysit for a little girl named Rebecca. She was always fun and loved books and songs. Her mother was a kindergarten teacher and thought kids didn't need to read early, so Rebecca didn't read until she went to school. However as soon as someone unlocked the reading code for her, she was reading at an 8th grade level within a year or so.

In the meantime, she loved to have books read to her and had memorized many books even chapter books. She would say to me, "Let's read the book about horses," and then go to find it. Rebecca would return a short while later and say, "I can't find the book, but I'll read it to you anyway." And then she would recite the entire book word for word.

She especially liked the books she could listen to that had songs intertwined with the story. She delighted in acting them out for me. She would don her "performance hair" (a dish towel over her head with rubber bands to make pigtails) and her microphone hairbrush and perform an entire book. Besides reciting the story, she would belt out the songs in a strong voice. She was quite good, actually.

There is one song to this day that I still sing that I learned from Rebecca. It is one where Cinderella is lamenting about all of the work she has to do. The chorus and first verse are below:

Work, work, work
I try not to complain
Washing, mending, stretching, bending
Every day's the same

Once I was just little Ella
That's how it began
Now I am a Cinderella
Always in my cinder place with ashes on my hands and face, I am!

(Unfortunately, I was not able to find credits for this or the tune on YouTube to include for you. Maybe after I understand my smart devices a little more, I'll sing it for you some day.)

The great thing about this song is that it's a fun way to complain. It's easy to insert whatever kind of work you're doing as well as your own name and complain while singing a catchy tune. I do it all of the time. In fact, I was singing it earlier while I was doing the laundry. And I think I will do another verse when I go wash the dishes. :)

Until tomorrow, when X is for...?