First Words
“Rise and shine, Susie Q!”
Those were the first words I would hear every morning my mother woke me up. She would enter my bedroom, open the curtains, and say the words in a sing-song voice.
No one calls me Susie Q. They never have. It was just her cutesy way of waking me up. Sometimes she’d add a little weather forecast or gently touch my shoulder.
Of course, there were many adolescent and teen years when I would detest that sound and burrow further under the covers. Nowadays I think, ‘Poor mom!’
How was she able to perform her daily task of waking four children in such a positive way? I know she got plenty of kickback, but she never changed her tune. Always smiling and starting our day with love and light.
I’m glad it was such a ritual. It’s so deeply ingrained within me that, even now, when I wake up, I sit on the edge of the bed, stretch my arms and smile and think, “Rise and shine!” I’ve dropped the hated ‘Susie Q’ part, and I have to open my own curtains, but having that little memory of mom with me is a lovely way to start my day.
The power of first words amazes me. Maybe it’s because I’m a writer. We always worry about the first words on a page, the beginning of a story, and the initial dialogue with our characters. Observing how other people treat first words tells me there’s more to it.
Recently I learned there is a religion that has a ritual with newborns and first words. The baby is held, usually by a father or grandfather, who whispers a prayer into the child’s right ear. This prayer serves as an announcement, assuring that the greatness of God is the first thing the child hears. Then a prayer is whispered into the left ear, as an establishment of life as prayer.
Once I learned about this ritual, I was able to watch a few on video, and found it very moving. It reminded me of what I do when holding a new baby. Whispering into
their ear, I welcome them and remind them that they know so much and have lots to teach us.
My words may not be as much for the child as for me. I am always humbled by the experience. It usually ends with my tears of joy.
The first words of our life, or the first words of our day, humans seem to believe beginnings matter. Even when we can’t explain why.
Maybe we understand, somewhere beneath the language, that beginnings echo. The first sentence in a book, the first words to a newborn, the first words spoken after an argument, the first words we hear every morning, we seem to treat them differently. It’s as though the opening note somehow lingers after all the others have faded.
Something I learned a long time ago—not sure from where or whom—was that it’s important for your face to light up when you see someone. They need to know when they walk in the room that they matter to you.
I purposefully do this, especially with my little nephews. They get the same enthusiastic greeting from me every time they walk into my house. I throw my arms wide open and shout their name like I haven’t seen them in years. After greeting them this way again and again, I can see how happy it makes them.
Not just kids though, I do this with adults too. For that one, brief second, my actions are telling them, “I’m glad you’re here.”
There are lots of beginnings that have that important echo. Wedding vows echo throughout a marriage. The first day of school echoes throughout the whole year. Beginnings seem to carry more weight.
Maybe that’s why my mom’s ‘Rise and shine’ has lasted all these years.
Looking back, I don’t think she was trying to create a lifelong ritual. She was just opening the curtains and waking another sleepy child. It was the first reminder, the beginning, every single morning, that I was welcomed into another day.
We probably forget most of what people say to us.
But every now and then, someone gives us a beginning that never leaves.
Mine arrived each morning with the curtains opening, a smile, and a voice singing,
“Rise and shine.”
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My gosh you are something. Your nephews are lucky to have such a lovely aunt. Rise and shine Susie Q is adorable! Love this, Karen.
That was a wonderful read, I very much enjoyed it. Those seemingly little things from a way back often have a power that keeps them with us, long after.