Zombie.

How to entertain a hyperactive toddler when you just want to sleeeeep? A disco of course! Close the curtains (no one needs to see me rocking the funky chicken at 10am) and crank up the volume on the iPod. T loves music, and is as happy bopping along to the Postman Pat theme as he is Prince ('Raspberry beret' a particular favourite, since you ask). However the song that got him grooving today was...

Zombie by the Cranberries. Not a natural choice on the playlist of most under 3's, I grant you. But the sight of my beautiful boy swaying to the tune whilst blissfully ignorant of the heartrending lyrics and the powerful message behind them was a sight that will stay with me. The song is evocative on so many levels, as it conjures up images of war-torn Belfast, but also the nostalgia for University days spent listening to music and nights spent dancing in indie clubs, taking every lyric to heart, thinking we could take on the world and win.

A long way from dancing in the dining room of a suburban house with a toddler. The juxtaposition of my old life and new life was stark. But I would trade any number of nights at the indie disco to spend one moment watching my infant son swaying to the Cranberries without a care in the world.