Mommy?
Yes Micah, what do you need?
I need a tissue.
I will be right there.
Now let me say this was not the first "Mommy" I had heard tonight. First he needed to get up to change underwear. The ones he had on were too baggy. Then he needed to get a drink. Then he needed the magic spider spray (a water bottle filled with scented water) because it had been three days since he last sprayed and it might wear off in the middle of the night. Then his pillow was missing. Then he forgot to give me a hug. Then he needed to change underwear because these were too tight. Then he had a question about electricity and breaker boxes. Yes. This was all in the course of bedtime tonight.
I let off a sigh of frustration as I made my way through the mine field of Legos, army men, and truck parts. When I got to his bed with his tissue, he looked up at me and with complete sincerity said....
I am sorry I keep making you madder and madder.
His words took my breath away. How could I possibly let this sweet child go to sleep thinking that the person who loved him most in this world was mad because he needed a tissue? I gave him a hug and told him I was not mad and we cuddled until he fell asleep.
Now I am left up thinking about my attitude with my children. I am with them all day every day. At the end of the day I am certainly tired. However, no longer will I view bedtime as the five o clock whistle in a factory. I don't ever want one of my children to think that I am eager to be done with them for the day or that I am mad that I have had to work overtime.
It seems never ending now, but in just a few short years I will not hear that cry of Mommy in the night. And I know beyond a doubt I will miss it. Sometimes it takes the words of a five year old to put things into perspective. "Me time" will come later. They do eventually sleep...just maybe not all of them at once!
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