I discovered coffee shops in college.  I never had very much money, but back then I could usually dig up $2 to buy a hot drink and rent a space at a little cafe for a few hours to think and write and declutter my brain.  I lived in a creative state, with lots of quiet and reflection, lots of planning and productivity.

I started writing Pitter Patter when Rosie, our first child, was a baby.  Life with a newborn is hard.  Recovering from birth, living without sleeping, being constantly available to another human being–this is hard work.  I could never anticipate how hard it would be–how totally worth it and wonderful–but how hard.

My coffee shop days were put on hold.  My uninterrupted creative flow had to adapt itself to seep into the cracks and crannies of the busy day.  It took me a couple of years to write this song.  When Rosie was a little older, I used to slip away to Java Joe’s once a week and write.  I would sit down, the blank page spread out before me, a pen in one hand and creamy coffee in the other, so thankful for time to think and write.  I would start writing, and all I could think about was my baby. How much I loved her.  How much I missed her.  How bittersweet that she was growing so fast.   And that’s what I would write about.

Flash forward six years.  We now have five children, ages 7, 5, 3, 2, and 9 weeks.  Life is so full, from before I wake up in the morning to the moment I lay my head down at night.  I have channelled so much of my personal creativity into the everyday experience of life in this house full of children.  I sometimes miss working on my own projects without interruption, and every now and then I get desperate for an hour of peace and quiet.  But I wouldn’t trade anything for the experience of living life with these amazing little people.  They are the most inspiring people I know.  When it rains, at best, I sit on the porch and look at it, sipping my coffee.  That is not good enough for them.  They are so moved by the rain, they want to be in it.  Running, dancing, splashing in it.  They open their mouths to drink it in, straight from the clouds.  It is a sweet, beautiful life.  And I know that time is coming back around for me, when my children will not need so much of my physical energy and presence in their lives.  When I can leave for hours at a time and no one will need me.  I will be able to drink my coffee in peace and write to my heart’s content.  But I will miss this blur of a season of little kisses and newborn smiles.  They way they love me and adore me and want me to cuddle with them.  Their tiny voices.  The funny things they say.  The joy of every new thing they experience.  The laughter I see in my husband’s eyes as we share the joy of living with these little people who have changed us forever.

There will be a time for tea and coffee
There will be a time for quiet cafes
There will be a time for reading and writing
And dreaming the day away

But now is the time of pitter patter
And now is the time of what’s the matter
Let me kiss you, make it better
Now is the time of sweet soft kisses
And now is the time every mother misses
Over coffee in a quiet cafe

Early to bed, early to rise
Lay down your head and close your eyes
Life is a dream that soon passes by
You will be grown in the blink of an eye
So please, let me kiss you one more time

Recording Notes:  Rhythm and lead guitars, electric bass, keyboard, congas, shaker, tambourine, vibraslap, bells, finger cymbals played by the amazing Randy Chester.  Smiling vocals by Mackenzie.

Here is the song on youtube.  Hope you enjoy!

You can purchase or download the full album on the store page of our website: www.thejosephineknot.com  And this week, you can download Pitter Patter for free.  Thanks so much for reading this all the way through, for your support of our music and our family.

Love and April Showers,

Randy, Mackenzie, Rosie, Paloma, Kells, Remy, and Heidi Wren