i don't do lullabies
laying next to miles last night i waited to hear his breathing change. he had a nasty sounding cough, and was all-around restless which was how i had ended up in bed with him in the first place. finally he settled and eventually fell asleep. as i was trying to figure out how to get up without waking him i heard a small voice yelling my name in a heavy whisper.
"amanda! hey!"
i looked up to see mason peeking over the headboard of his bed.
"when you're done with miles will you lay with me?"
--this is one of my favorite parts of babysitting. putting the kids to bed. it's kind of like a slumber party, only i'm 25 and everyone else is under 3 feet tall. first everyone gets their pajamas on (kids always seem to have the cutest pjs. the kind that makes me want to squeeze them until they pop.) then we read a few stories together, and to be honest i've read some pretty good novels over the years, but children's books really are where it's at. THEY have pictures. and some even rhyme. after that there's a lot of hugging and tucking in. good and good. now, i have to be honest here and admit that this is not the end of the bedtime routine. most kids, especially when a babysitter instead of a parent is involved, do not simply drift off to unconciousville as soon as the covers are pulled over them. instead there is usually an abrupt outburst of bottled up energy. an explosion of giggling and bouncing around, as if they can't possibly sleep until they get it all out. sometimes this part of "bed time" drives me insane (especially if most of the evening has been one long out burst of giggling and bouncing). but sometimes it's fun. sometimes i even join in. last night i couldn't help myself. mason and coleman went nearly hysterical over the name i had given to one of their finger-puppets earlier in the evening: sqatty squishmeister. i started laughing simply because people who think i'm funny make me happy/the world an all-around better place. sooner or later the outburst dies down and tiredness sets in pretty quickly. they start to drop like flies. and that's when they want you to lay with them.--
"yeah," i said, "i think he's asleep. i'm coming up."
mason scooted over to make room for me. it's funny because even when they make room there's never enough. kids have no concept of how much of a bed i can take up. so i always end up on my side. with my butt dangling dangerously off the edge. as i'm trying to keep my balance mason (this was the best part of my night. maybe even my week.) pulls his blanket over me. "all tucked in" he says. funny how a 4-year-old knows how to treat me better than most men. we lay there for a while. i close my eyes because i'm tired, and because mason is really close to my face, staring at me. finally he flips over and his breathing deepens. i lay there for a while longer, not wanting to leave simply because this is the safest i've felt in over a week. but eventually i get up because i feel myself nodding off. nothing looks less professional to a parent than coming home to a babysitter wrapped up in a child's blanket while child himself is uncovered and shivering/pinned up against the wall.
"amanda! hey!"
i looked up to see mason peeking over the headboard of his bed.
"when you're done with miles will you lay with me?"
--this is one of my favorite parts of babysitting. putting the kids to bed. it's kind of like a slumber party, only i'm 25 and everyone else is under 3 feet tall. first everyone gets their pajamas on (kids always seem to have the cutest pjs. the kind that makes me want to squeeze them until they pop.) then we read a few stories together, and to be honest i've read some pretty good novels over the years, but children's books really are where it's at. THEY have pictures. and some even rhyme. after that there's a lot of hugging and tucking in. good and good. now, i have to be honest here and admit that this is not the end of the bedtime routine. most kids, especially when a babysitter instead of a parent is involved, do not simply drift off to unconciousville as soon as the covers are pulled over them. instead there is usually an abrupt outburst of bottled up energy. an explosion of giggling and bouncing around, as if they can't possibly sleep until they get it all out. sometimes this part of "bed time" drives me insane (especially if most of the evening has been one long out burst of giggling and bouncing). but sometimes it's fun. sometimes i even join in. last night i couldn't help myself. mason and coleman went nearly hysterical over the name i had given to one of their finger-puppets earlier in the evening: sqatty squishmeister. i started laughing simply because people who think i'm funny make me happy/the world an all-around better place. sooner or later the outburst dies down and tiredness sets in pretty quickly. they start to drop like flies. and that's when they want you to lay with them.--
"yeah," i said, "i think he's asleep. i'm coming up."
mason scooted over to make room for me. it's funny because even when they make room there's never enough. kids have no concept of how much of a bed i can take up. so i always end up on my side. with my butt dangling dangerously off the edge. as i'm trying to keep my balance mason (this was the best part of my night. maybe even my week.) pulls his blanket over me. "all tucked in" he says. funny how a 4-year-old knows how to treat me better than most men. we lay there for a while. i close my eyes because i'm tired, and because mason is really close to my face, staring at me. finally he flips over and his breathing deepens. i lay there for a while longer, not wanting to leave simply because this is the safest i've felt in over a week. but eventually i get up because i feel myself nodding off. nothing looks less professional to a parent than coming home to a babysitter wrapped up in a child's blanket while child himself is uncovered and shivering/pinned up against the wall.