Three Little Words
One of my favorite parts of the day happens right before I go to bed each night. I've made it a matter of routine to check on my boys in their bedroom. The kids are usually always asleep and never now I check on them. The other night I went in to check on them. My oldest is on the top bunk, so I can't quite give him a kiss on the forehead anymore, unless he is right on the edge. My middle boy is in the bottom bunk. I sat next to him and made sure he wasn't too hot. For some odd reason he wanted to wear his one piece winter pajamas; the ones with the zipper from the toes to the neck. I gave my boy a little hug and said "I love you little bud." I started getting out of bed and I heard a little sleepy whisper "I love you." You can imagine the emotions.
Children are incredible. This world is all about selfishness and money these days, but I find that the sacrifices I made to be married and raise kids are nothing compared to the rewards for doing so. And yes, it takes a lot of hard work to resit the temptation to take care of el numero uno first.
As another note. When I put them to bed, not when I'm checking on them, and leave the room, I have to go through a series of good night messages. Here is the list of phrases typically heard from my boys.
- Good night
- Good night alligator dad. (comes from see you later alligator, converted to this by a child's mind)
- Sweat Dreams
- Pleasant Dreams
- Have a good sleep
- See you at breakfast.
- I hope you have a Good night
- Good night dad
- Ok (usually an echo of me saying Ok to them first)
- I love you
- Good night
No, not one of these per night. Every single one every night, and each boy wants to be the last to say something, so I have hear each item in the list four or five times. I say Good Night about 20 times before I can leave the room.