Bedtime

They came to me, over and over rushing soundlessly to my side where I was almost sleeping. 

One couldn’t sleep and one was simply officiating the other with self-righteousness oozing from every pore. Over and over. 

Finally, it sinks into my exhausted brain, and almost without understanding why I found myself heaving myself out of bed and off to put an end to this nonsense.   

We get to the kitchen and I hear the cat scratching at the door. “Did you feed the cat, Dom?” I turn to look at him. 

“Well no,” he answered.

“Why?” My voice rose a few decibels and he looked a little concerned.

“Because I can’t find her dish”. 

“Dominic! Scoop some up and put it on the porch.”  vass die yama! I am exasperated! 

He feeds the cat and then the menagerie of two little boys, a little girl, and one exhausted mom move seemingly as a single unit, up the stairs. 

Hey, I want the closet door open.” Asher says.

“Sumyr, open the door”. 

I am too tired to argue.

She does.

“I want the light on too, all night,” he said bolstered from his recent success.

That was too far and I was too Amish for this. “No, you will not have the light on all night. That will keep all your sisters awake. 

He looked surprised as if wondering why he should care about that, but diplomacy won and he muttered “oh fine.”

He had almost hustled me while I was befuddled. Which is a toddler specialty. You think they are cute babies and even cuter toddlers, and then they hustle you for half you own before you wise up.

 “Let’s turn the fan on".” I have fresh hope as I pick up the fan and look for the one wall receptacle in our old old old house.

“See mom, we can’t use the fan because it has this ball thing and the other thing.” Everyone is helpful, and all hands are on deck to figure this thing out.  

That can’t go in there. (Points at the wall socket) 

“Ok honey then we cannot use the fan tonight”. I hide my peeved feeling, my warm soft bed with my husband in it, drifting a little bit further away by the minute.

I watched him with chagrin as He bounces from side to side and jumps up and down happily on the bed. Having Mom join him in bed is almost too much joy to bear.

Suddenly I am overwhelmed... my baby and husband sleeping peacefully and I should be beside them. “Now that’s enough” I wince at the snap in my tone and soften my voice “get in bed right now.”

Everyone snuggles up and there is a great stirring of covers as they settle themselves grandly in the middle of the big bed around me.

“Mom don’t you think you want to just stay here in the big bed with me, mom?“ he asks.

“No baby, I want to sleep with Daddy.”

Mom, I had a good day today”. He lay back with his arms above his head and sighed. 

“You did? What about it was good?” I asked. 

Ana answered for him “the whole cookie I was allowed to have.” I snort on the inside as if she is not allowed to have a whole cookie, regularly.

“Yea, same here” Asher interjects, “that was one of my favorites too.”

What else did you like about today” I ask him again. 

“Mom” now he was impatient “I forgot what the other thing was that wasn’t the cookie thing”. 

“I also loved that you let us watch one movie,” Ana said. 

Asher rises up indignantly “you wouldn’t let us watch a whole movie, Ana ”. His self-righteous indignation was holding a little grudge. 

“Goodnight, love you, sleep good” Dom is at the door again. He likes to be the last one to tell me his ritualistic little goodnight litany. And it irks him when another child talks to me too much after his goodnight bid. He can still hear the sheep loudly talking and he wishes they would put their emotions back in their pockets and let him have the last word.

I take slow even breaths as I beg everyone to go to bed. Ana has managed to go to the bathroom 4 or 5 times seemingly in fulfilling her daily toilette. Asher is asking me if I wouldn’t like to just sleep in this big bed tonight with him” while Ana exhorts him on another matter. 

 I die again to myself for a moment as I encourage them to lay down now and go to sleep. 

 Finally, they sleep, I sit up and aggressively pat around them to make sure they are indeed out, and then slip by the other kid’s rooms. Now that the littles are asleep I feel benevolent and fuzzy in spirit again. “Goodnight baby,” I say above the chiming in of many voices as we bid each other fond adieus.  

“Goodnight Dom, love you” I whispered into his room. 

“Goodnight, love you, sleep good” the expected reply. 

“Good night, love you” I repeat giggling 

“Goodnight love you”. Now I laugh and turn to the steps. “I have died every day waiting for you” I croon quietly, “for you to grow up” I press my lips together and hurry quickly to my bed.

“Himmel!” I mutter as I see my husband already sleeping and my fat imperious baby sacked out deliciously with arms and legs all which ways. . . . Right square on my pillow. 

I picked him up in one swinging movement and tossed him gently to the middle. He didn’t stir. 

I snickered to myself at my cleverness in always being purposely shuzzlih when I put my babies to bed because it created a napper so impervious to sound and movement that one could have a successfully napping toddler in a full-time RV family of 9 people. 

I grabbed my book and book light, pulled the covers back, and paused for a moment to decide which leg should lead into climbing in bed. A momentous decision put on the spot like this. 

I choose my left leg, I have no idea why and caught a little scuffle in the corner of my eye. 

Crap. He’s back, square on my pillow. 

Suddenly arms come out from his sleeping papa and he’s unceremoniously scooped up and snuggled onto papa which everyone knows is the premium and coveted nighttime acreage. 

He sleeps on. 

Beside him, the book light clicks on, I am happy. The day is over.