Let's face it. My days are never peaceful. I have three boys who are constantly on the move. I chauffeur, entertain, supervise, referee, soothe, and much more. Some parts of my day I love more than others. Bedtime offers my favorite time of day.
Now, I don't love bedtime for the reasons you may think. Yes, putting everyone to bed gives the first moment of peace all day. And yes, for once no one is arguing. But that is not what I love about it. Frankly, it is not even the angelic manner in which they look as they have fallen asleep although, admittedly, I love watching them sleep even still!
What I love the most is our nightly ritual of reading books together.
No matter what has occurred throughout the day, bedtime is the one time that we snuggle close and share a common bond of finding out something new in a story. For many years I have these same fond memories of when my mom read to me and my sister, Tif. Now I find myself reading some of the same stories to my little boys that mom read to us. (Ramona, James and the Giant Peach, Ralph and the Motorcycle, The Littles, etc) I even find them saying the same things we said to mom. "Plllleeaassse read one more chapter before you turn off the light." "What is going to happen next? Keep going!" I love that!
I have been reading to the boys before bedtime since they were little babies. When they were old enough to understand, they were able to pick two of their favorite stories for me to read at night. Once Andrew and Brendan were old enough, we began reading chapter books to them nightly. We read about 20 minutes or so an evening.
Last night we were finishing the Dahl novel James and the Giant Peach for the second time. It was Brendan's book pick for the week. I love listening to them laugh at how outrageous the centipede is and giggle at the earthworm's grumpiness. They were scared of the scary Cloud-men who were attacking the peach and were glad to see James' mean aunts punished for being so cruel. They were intrigued at how the book would end and thrilled when all the peach's travellers ended up safe. We shared those emotions together and for one time in the day, we were all completely happy.
Someday I know that the boys will outgrow this nightly ritual, and I will have to find a new way to connect with them on a daily basis. I hope to savor this time for as long as I can. Moments like bedtime remind me how much I love being a mom.
3 comments:
Oh Jen! You brought tears to my eyes! What a very special moment for all of you. I hope you save these blogs for the boys to read later in life - they'll very much appreciate them!
Miss you all!
I love this time of day too... can't wait until I can dig out some of the classics!
This touched a chord in me too. I've had a rough transition into summer with my two boys, and the bedtime stories--also a treasured part of our past routines--has faded over time. I think I might try to resurrect it. Thanks, Jen!
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