Thursday, April 14, 2011

Bigger Picture Moment: The Whole Story

It had been an exhausting weekend filled with running in all directions trying to get a multitude of tasks accomplished. Somehow, because of my work schedule and things that needed to get done, there ended up not being a lot of time to spend with Ben. Sunday night rolled around and it was my turn to put Ben to bed. I found myself focused on getting dinner served, getting the dishes cleaned up and the toys put away so that we could get the bedtime routine moving.

Recently Ben has become an adversary of sleeping. He protests bedtimes and nap times. He tells me "I gonna cry" whenever I say it's time for bed. He climbs the twelve stairs in our house as if he is an ant and they are each a mile high. He stops to inspect things on the carpet and he dawdles when picking pajamas, brushing his teeth and choosing a book. His most recent trick is to go "noodle-y" and lay in the middle of the floor like a limp rag, refusing to move or do any of the things I ask of him.

Needless to say, I was already tired and not looking forward to our bedtime battle. I managed to get him in the tub without too much hassle but ending the bath was still a fight. We got to his room and managed to agree on some jammies. Then came the dreaded book choosing. His recent favorite is what he calls "The Cars Book" which is really a Disney storybook collection that has a story about the Cars characters. It is a l-o-n-g story (Really, Disney?! 20 some odd pages for a CHILDREN'S bedtime story? What were you thinking?!). So, I try to talk him out of it on many occasions, but at the times he is adamant or I am too tired to argue, we read the "abridged" version. This entails me skipping multiple paragraphs and delivering a cliff's notes version of Mater and McQueen's adventures.

So we grabbed the book and he snuggled up on my lap. I could smell the fresh baby shampoo scent in his damp hair and felt the warm weight of him on my chest. He laid his head on my shoulder, stuck his fingers in his mouth and began to relax. It was a wonderful feeling - one that I had missed the whole weekend. One that I knew I wouldn't get to have for very much longer. He is growing fast - as little boys do. That night, I read him the whole story. I didn't skip a word. I did the funny voices and took my time. I soaked in that moment of motherhood - glad for every second I had.


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5 comments:

  1. Totally love it. You are right of course. Just visiting today from bigger picture moments and so glad that I stopped by.

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  2. Oh, now that's a beautiful moment! Their little snuggles are perfect for slowing down us busy mamas. {And that Cars book IS long; I've been there in bed reading it for what has felt like forever before -- geesh!} ;)

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  3. Love this! Its amazing how refreshing it is to stop and enjoy something like this, even though rushing through it SEEMS like it would be the more restful choice!

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  4. What a wonderful ending! Bedtimes can be so hard, but it ALWAYS amazes me how calm and peaceful it can be if I give it a chance. Rushing through is no fun, but I still do it too often :(

    I loved this, Kam!

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  5. It's so hard for me at the end of a long day to relax into bedtime. It's one of the reasons my husband takes the lead. Thank you for the reminder on the importance of it, for me and them.

    Oh and I LOVE "noodling" we call it going boneless, my daughters a pro! :-)

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