Sunday, October 01, 2006

A Night in the Life

One evening last week after we had all the kiddos in the bed, I thought I heard the movement of a child on the landing. I listened... waited.....but no child. He or she must have wised up (I thought) and realized that drinks of water, prayers, teeth brushing, back rubbing, verse studying, and a round of jingle bells had already been addressed. Burdens had been laid down, worries of what to wear tomorrow had been eased.
Is your retainer in your mouth?...yes
Did you pack your clothes for cross country?....yes
Mom, do you think we will ever move to Texas?.... I wish
Mom, do you think that I could move to Hollywood and be a movie star?...... I hope not. Mommy, I-leep in u bed! MOMMY, PLEASE I leep in u bed tonight???
Mom, can I read one more chapter?....O.K.
Mom, (tears) that chapter made me cry.....
Can anyone relate to the circus of bedtime? I have always been a pretty good keeper of the schedule but these people have needs and they all seem to come to a boil right about 7:30 p.m.!

Whew, and when the ordeal is over it feels like you couldn't take another step before laying your head down for a nice long 6-7 hour coma. Instead, I opt for a trip downstairs for food which I don't need and begin to rouse myself for a second shift of HWK (housework without kids). You know that's like a whole other kind of work, right? It's actually productive and for some reason even more gratifying than sleep. Well I had loaded the last dish and sat on the sofa with Chris, and I think we dozed off because we didn't head up until almost midnight and that's when Chris, who was ahead of me going upstairs said, "Kim, hurry up- you gotta see this". Well I rushed over and was truly startled by this little guy sound asleep (and snoring) on the stairs! After my initial reaction of shock, I realized how far up the stairs he actually was and begin to have a panicked feeling (even though we were right there?)

The scamper of feet was a *real* noise from one of our *real* kids and not a figment of my overworked imagination. Even so, I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined that his need to be near us was so great that he would try to "wait it out" on the stairs. For a child to be the third in line, he so often ends up being the one who does things for the *very first time!*

5 comments:

Jenn said...

Good thing they're carpeted stairs!

Anonymous said...

I love that Bear is right there with him!

Tiffany said...

His legs are looking so long! Are you feeding him again! I thought we agreed to stop feeding them so that we could keep them at this adoreable age!

I too wish VERY often that God would put you back home here in Tejas! We went to the fair yesterday since kids had the day off. I thought about how our very first ferris wheel ride at the Great State Fair of Texas was with you! My chin hairs do too! :) You crazy nut!!!

Amy said...

oh boy, I can *so* relate to this post, lol! Love the picture of your little guy sleeping on the stairs!

Anonymous said...

OH! I know exactly what you mean! Everything starts happening at bedtime. All the things that could have been done hours ago are now sudden emergencies.

Last night, my oldest son realized he had not made his bed yesterday morning. Oh, no! So, he's wearing his jammies, we've done all the bedtime stuff, and he HAS to make his bed! It made NO sense. So, I let him do what he wanted while I went to tuck in another kid.

The picture is priceless!