Bedtime
I made an interesting realization the other day. I no longer dread bedtime. I’ve fought the battle of bedtime nightly for nearly 13 years now. Some times it was a harder slog than others, but it was always a high-energy activity at a low-energy point in the day. But somehow in the last few months, that changed. Now bedtime begins with a snack and me reading aloud. Everyone enjoys this, including me. After snack, all the kids go lay in their beds and read while I enjoy the quiet. Again it is rewarding for everyone. There are occasional skirmishes over “you will turn out your light now” or “stop playing with toys and go to sleep” or “go get back into bed.” Naturally there are grumpy days where it doesn’t work smoothly, but for the most part bedtime is peaceful. This means I’m much more likely to start it on schedule rather than letting the kids play longer because I’m too tired to want to do bedtime. What a strange feeling it is to enjoy the bedtime routine.