Friday, January 4, 2013
Tucking the kids into bed.
We have always tucked our kids in at night. When they were smaller we would rock them to sleep. This progressed into reading before bed to get them to settle down and relax. Now that the kids are both into some kind of activity year round, I notice we are more in a rush to just shower and get into bed. Usually we say our prayers, hug and kiss and lights out. Every now and then they will just come in our room, hug and kiss us and put themselves into bed.
Before the Christmas break, I had a headache and didn't tuck them in. Later, I felt a little guilty about it and made my way to their rooms. From the outside of the door I could over here Ansley reading the Bible to ChaChi. I just thought, I'm so glad I didn't miss this.
Over the break, I made it a point to go into their rooms to hang out with them before they went to sleep. We all piled into bed and would take turns reading. It seems like we must have all been giddy and laughed so hard I cried. Ansley said, "I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard." Another night I fell asleep to Ansley reading.
One night I walked in ChaChi's room to find both the kids had blankets tied around their wrists and ankles. They were jumping off the bed like flying squirrels. ChaChi jumped off the bed and said, "I think I felt it work a little." Ryan's mom was here and we were cracking up! Ansley wouldn't let me film her, haha.
The more I thought about it, I realized that as long as I continue to do this the better off we will all be. I think at the end of the day their little minds naturally unwind giving us the opportunity to have conversations we may not have throughout the hectic part of the day. It's really special time together to share our day, the fun moments, or perhaps to hear about how annoying the kid is beside them at school.
I just get lazy sometimes and don't want to make that trek to their room. I realize those may be the nights I may need to get laugh or an extra hug or kiss in the most.
If you don't already put your kids into bed, give it a try. If you feel the same way, I'd love to hear your routine or some of the fun stuff your family does before bed.
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I never really tucked my boys in at night but my brother Jim and his wife do this with their girls. Whenever I'm there at night, I love to be the one to tuck the girls in. Jim and his wife tell the girls stories about their childhood but they don't let the kids know they're about THEM. Jim is Billy Bob and all of his friends names start with Billy. He cracks me up telling stories about Billy Jeff and Billy John and so forth! I'm Billy Jo, I think. Angie is Tabertha and her sister is Samanther (intentionally misspelled). When Jim's youngest, Jamie, accepted Christ into her heart, it was on Christmas Eve at bedtime and I was there... so me, Jim, Angie and Sarabeth knelt beside Jamie's bed with her while she prayed. It was one of the most precious experiences of my life! NOW... flipside... I had wake up routines with my boys that included singing this obnoxious wake up song. Ryan was passing through on his way from Florida to Pennsylvania last November and I snuck into Cody's house (Mrs Stalnaker's house) next door where he was sleeping and sang the wake up song to my 26 year old baby. Good times. Didn't mean to write an essay here... LOL.
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DeleteHa, that's funny! I wonder if all those stories are suitable for children. I'd like to sit in on some of those tales!
See that's exactly what I'm talking about. So many precious moments may be missed if we skip out on a bedtime ritual. I just think if it's something parents always do, when our kids are teens it won't be weird because it will be part of their normal routine. Lord knows teens need their "own" time to decompress and talk about their days.
My kids are not "morning ppl" so I think if I were to wake them up like that I would get much unwanted attitude.