All I am Asking for is a Little Mariachi

You can never find Mariachi music when you need it.

T Junior and I were rolling along in the trusty blue minivan while "Under the Sea" filled the inside of the Odyssey and sunshine danced along on the dashboard when I noticed he was quiet. I didn't hear his horsey jingling or crinkling or being slammed against the window.

I glanced in the rearview mirror. Panic washed over me.

T Junior's eyes were glazed over and four out of five fingers on his right hand were being used as a pacifier.

We were 20 minutes from home and he was falling asleep.

When he was really little, I wished he would sleep in his car seat, but he never did. I complained. "I thought babies are supposed to like sleeping in the car." My kid didn't care for it most of the time, so I was often pushed to the limit trying to drive and soothe a wailing child.

These days, I do my best to keep him awake. Twenty minutes of sleep in his car seat means he'll think he's done and that means he won't nap at home and THAT, my friends, means no break time for Mommy. Not good.

I leaned forward, so I could see him better in the mirror and keep my eyes on the road at the same time. I had to keep him up.

"T Junior, what does a cow say? What does a horse say? What does a dog say?" I went through our entire animal-sounds repertoire a few times. I got louder on each round until I was whinnying and mooing at the top of my human-sized lungs. But, he wouldn't participate. He just kept sucking the skin off his fingers.

I cranked up "Hakuna Matata" to speaker-blowing levels (well, speaker-blowing for a minivan at least), and I screamed along with Pumbaa and Timon. We were 10 minutes from home.

I checked the mirror and saw that his chin was resting on his chest and his hand was free. Really? With all this racket?

I reached back and wriggled his car seat enough to wake him.

"Hey! Hey, you! Hey, T Junior!"

His eyes fluttered and his fingers went back in.

"La-la-la-la-la-la-la! Yay-yay-yay-yay-yay!" I screeched.

Slow blink.

"T JUNIOR! WEEEEE! HIIII! YAAAAY! MOOOO MOOOO! WOOF WOOF!" My throat throbbed and my ears ached.

Head-roll.

I turned up "Ugly Bug Ball." Deep breath, then: "YAY-YAY-YAY-YAY-YAY! WOOO-WOOO-WOOO! NO SLEEPING!"

He just kept on sucking his fingers.

Five minutes from home. Wake up, KID!

Loud Disney wasn't cutting it. I tried to think of something different. Something he'd never heard. Maybe Mariachi?

That should be easy enough on AM, but all I got was fuzz and talk and sports. I found one Spanish-language station, but it was just commercials...I think. I left it there, but knew it was hopeless.

I still think Mariachi might have worked if only I could've found it. I'll have to save that idea for another day. Maybe I'll dedicate a preset button for it.

Now, if you'll excuse me. Where's the Ibuprofin?