Good Night, Sleep Tight

Starting when the girls were babies, straight through the elementary school years, we had a rather long and elaborate bedtime ritual. It started with bath time, followed by a long story hour and ending with the custom tuck-in. Sarah liked to be rocked and then have her back rubbed. She had just one lovey, her Madeline doll, who went with her everywhere and was always a part of the tuck-in ritual.

Emma was another story. Emma had lots of loveys and they all needed to be included in the tuck-in routine. Emma’s main squeeze was a soft pink stuffed bear named Sparky that she had been given as a baby. She also had two blankets. First there was Soft Blankie. Soft Blankie was the older, more worn blanket. All the binding was gone and the blanket threads were fraying and tangled. At one point I had taken it away and replaced it with a new blanket because I thought she might get tangled in it in her sleep. Emma called the replacement blanket Cold Blankie because it still had the satin binding that she thought felt cold on her face when she snuggled with it. And, Emma had a large collection of Beanie Babies, each with their own name and significant place in the tuck-in ritual.

The tuck-in would start with the Beanie Babies. They would get tucked in, one by one, at the foot of Emma’s bed. There was a certain order that they were placed in the bed, which I don’t remember, but Emma probably would. Each would get a kiss and then be placed under the covers and pushed to the bottom of the bed. Next Emma would get in bed, clutching Sparky. We would tuck in Soft Blankie and Cold Blankie next to her and then, depending on whose turn it was, Peter or I would squeeze onto the edge of the bed and keep her company until she got sleepy, chatting a little about the day that was and the day that was to be.

I know these separate, and personal bedtime rituals were important to each of the girls. It was their own time. In fact, I think it was during one of these quiet moments, not long after Sarah was born, me squeezed next to Emma on her bed, lights off, waiting to get sleepy, that Emma said to me with a sigh, “Remember the good ol’ days…before Sarah was born.”