So where did the name Sunshine and HoneyBunch come from?
When my girls were born, I wanted to find a song to sing to them at night. I don’t know why this was so important to me. I am not musical and can’t carry a tune. Music wasn’t that important to my family growing up. I don’t recall my parents ever singing to me as a kid. But I was determined that my girls would have SOMETHING like a song to recall fondly when they get older.
When my oldest – Sunshine – was born, I tried a few different tunes. Random ones I heard on the radio, lullabies, humming etc. Nothing seemed to stick. Then I decided to sing her “You are my sunshine”. A friend in high school sang it to me (I can’t remember why, but we were in Europe and she got a kick out of how red I turned). And so began our routine of singing “You are my sunshine” every night. I even learned a second verse to it. As she got a little older, she would lay in my arms in her glider, and say “Shunshine”. This was my cue to start the song over. There were nights when my little girl would request “Shunshine” 20 or so times. And now 9.5 years later, I still sing it to her every night I can. I’ve even sung it to her when she’s at her dad’s house. When she’s mad at me, I make it extra silly and sing as loud as I can in the hallway.
And then came along HoneyBunch. I was on YouTube late at night while nursing a newborn trying to find something that fit. Eventually I stumbled upon a YouTube clip of a little cartoon bunny singing “You are my HoneyBunch” and that was it. I listened to it over and over so I could learn the words for her. She’s now 6.5, and requests her song every single night. She adds her own little variations at the end every night and it makes us both giggle.
I’ve told both girls I will sing their songs every night I can for as long as I can. Even when they are teenagers, even when they move out, I’ll call them to sing to them. They roll their eyes and smile, knowing that I’m serious. If they are mad at me, and request I don’t sing their songs, I don’t. I don’t want them to think I’m forcing it on them. But it’s one of those things that we share, that no one can take from us. Their dad used to join in, when he was home for bedtimes, but it’s been me their whole lives.
So, they are my Sunshine and HoneyBunch. Which is how I plan to refer to them in this blog. Those that know me in person know their real names, and I ask that if you comment you leave their names out. I am possibly going to be sharing some hard details at times, and figure that they didn’t ask for their lives to be uprooted like they were, so why drag their names into this as well. Sunshine knows about the blog, but I won’t let her read it. HoneyBunch has no clue, and I’ll probably keep it that way. If something comes of the blog and it takes off, I’ll reconsider, but for now this is how it will be.
Sunshine and HoneyBunch 