Wasn’t I surprised when I ended up sleeping in the middle of my bed with a child on either side… dog at my feet.
The other night… thunder roared through the night and lightning lit up our skies when at first one child, then a second, arrived at my bedside.
Spiderman arrived under the guise of wanting to check the score of the game. It was still 0/0 in the first game of a seven series race for Vancouver to bring the Stanley Cup back to Canadian soil. “You can’t stay up” I explained, reminding him that I’d allowed him to watch the first period and as per our deal he’d have to watch the highlights on TSN in the morning. “I’m just going to sleep here for a bit… maybe wake up if I hear the fans when someone scores but I promise I’ll go right back to sleep. Besides, the thunder is kind of freaky.”
I was smart enough to know it had nothing to do with bringing the Cup to Canadian soil as he’s a Bruins fan! So, being the mom that I am, I didn’t put up a fuss as he threw back the quilt and curled down under the covers. It’s a King Size… lots of room for both of us… until she arrived.
“Move into the middle”, I said as she stood wide-eyed next to me in need of a the-whole-sky-is-rumbling-and-scaring-the-crap-out-of-me Hug. Slightly shaken and close to tears she responded with “But he’s there!” “So?” “That’s gross.”
Good Lord. Frankly… near one a.m. isn’t the time to begin an argument over who sleeps next to whom and why it’s gross or not. The fact is… I’d popped a Benadryl to take down the swelling in my fly bitten wrist and was feeling the effects of the medication. In desperate need to put my head on a pillow and with no will to argue, I shimmied over as she crawled in beside me. Suddenly in the middle I was claustrophobic, hot and with no way to stick my leg out from under the covers as I normally do.
It wasn’t long before the gargantuan sized eight and ten feet… once so adorable that I’d bite the little piggies causing squeals of delight… were rudely touching my legs and there’s nothing I hate more than toenails touching my skin. “You should really shave Mom” she announced in the dark. I had a comeback but kept it to myself as about that time the dog arrived and uninvited, jumped onto the bed. Her fur standing on end and ears perked to the sky with each rumble and roar. She mussed up the bedcovers, made herself comfy and settled in for the night without any thought of asking for permission. She was scared… and wasn’t taking no for an answer.
Eventually… while Spiderman and the beast snored loudly, satisfied in the comfort of just being near, I opened the curtains so my youngest and I could watch the show. Me, curled on my side, spooning my sweet little girl as there was no point fighting it off. She didn’t have any plans of sleeping through the storm or her fears without me… and it really was a spectacular night.
The sky lit up the night and the thunder roared as I lay in the middle of my king sized bed… a child on either side, a dog at my feet and the realization that my children still need me… still seek my comfort… regardless of the rate at which their gargantuan feet continue to grow.
Photo Credit: Ahmad Tawakol. Lightning over Bedford. http://www.ahmadtawakol.com/
OMG I could have wrote this post…right from the toenails,two kids in my king size bed to the dog(s)and hanging a leg out.
You are right though soon enough they will not need us and we will long for those monkeys in the bed!
Haha. I stick my leg out from under the covers, too. And I remember Nanny always slept that way. Can't stand hot feet! It's nice to know our kids will always need us 🙂
Elizabeth
ohhhh Colleen ! I loved this !!!! and you are so right we need to cherish the time tht they want to cuddle and sandwich us in the middle !! I can so relate to this post !
you are awesome!
🙂
Tracy
That was just so lovely and so true x
Remember a hurricane coming through our island and my two daughters and I curled up in the closet with duvets and singing nursery songs over the wind and rain
Now look forward to a storm so my big girls come back to me 🙂 x