The Boomerang & The Boy Who Belonged to Himself

Bedtime at our house is fairly consistent.

Austin ("The Boomerang" as we like to call him) gets put to bed about 8:30. Then, for the next 30-45 minutes, he experiences severe dehydration (up to get a refill on his water), remembers school work due tomorrow (up to tell Mom), obsesses over "something" stuck in his tooth (up to floss), worries about me going to bed before he falls asleep and turning off all the lights (up to ask me how late I'll be up), and otherwise creates a dozen or more "reasons" to get out of bed over and over.

He asks me to "snuggle" with him every night - usually I do, sometimes not. When I do, we lie down in his bed, he spoons right up against me, and then starts in with the questions. Or he tells me stuff that happened that day at school, often involving girls who are tormenting him, conflicts on the playground, or the various and many shortcomings of his teachers. No matter how much the world has changed in 30 years, I'm sure my last bedtime thoughts as a 4th grader were probably about awful girls, dumb teachers and recess, too.

When he was little, he used to want me to sing to him, or tell him a story about when I was little: his favorites were always the ones involving his Uncle Steve and me getting into trouble with his Grandpa. (There are several of that variety!) For a while, he used to want me to make up a story, usually involving characters from the Harry Potter books. I'd start making up some nonsense about terrible and outrageous misfortune, and he'd laugh and beg me to tell him more. Many nights, Shelley would hear us giggling 30 minutes past his bedtime, and would have to come in and remind us both 'tomorrow's a school day' or some other responsible thing. He loved to be rocked and sung to when he was a baby. I guess he still needs that, in a bigger, cooler way, of course.

Braden ("The Boy Who Belonged to Himself" as we like to call him, a reference from Shelley's childhood book "Mister Dog" - which he loves) has his customs, too. He only wants Mommy now, at bedtime or most of the rest of the day for that matter. Needless to say, Shelley is ready for me to take over with Braden by bedtime, and I try every night to initiate the sleep sequence. I usually succeed in getting his underwear exchanged for a pull-up, get the pj's on, teeth brushed. Occasionally I get to read him a few books. But by the time the lamp by his bed is turned out, he wants me to "go vay", and (here's my favorite) "keen kitchen da-ee".

Let me explain. When I was still allowed to put him to bed (books, songs, tuck in) he used to ask for "mo sawns" every time I said it was time to go to sleep. I would say "okay, one more song", each time telling him "this is the last song then Braden has to go to sleep". "Kay da-ee," would come the reply, and then we would repeat the cycle. I eventually could get away by telling him I had to go clean the kitchen. For some reason, that was okay and he would roll over and go to sleep.

Now, he doesn't want even one "mo sawn", and he directs me to "keen kitchen" as soon as I get him covered up. If I do start to sing a song, (usually "Sunshine on my Shoulders" by John Denver, his favorite and the song he asks Shelley to play EVERY time they are in the car together), he will interrupt me and say "seen yeow bird da-ee". (Yeow is pronounced like "yellow" if you removed the l's and made it one syllable.) I start to sing "yellow bird, high up in banana tree", but always stop short sometime around "banana", sputter and say "that's not Daddy's song, that's Mommy's song". For reasons known only to my two year old, this cracks him up, every night, without fail. He will laugh and cover his mouth like we've done something we shouldn't have. Then "keen kitchen".

Regardless of how bad my day has been, or how rotten the boys have behaved, the first time I check on them after they have fallen asleep causes instant amnesia and I am overwhelmed by their absolute sweetness and innocence. They will always be babies when they sleep...