Bedtime Blessings

...I find myself looking forward to "The Little Puppy". It's a story. A little boy named Tim wants a puppy real bad... He begs his parents and finally they say he can have one. He names him Charlie. And the book goes on to explain all the fun things they do together... Make messes, go fishing in Tim's grandfather's boat... etc...

The thing I love about this story isn't the story itself... It's the fact that it has become a bedtime ritual with Elle. We have been reading it everynight. I remember more and more parts by heart every single night.

I find myself thinking about it throughout the day... When everything is seeming to go wrong, when Elle is fussing over something silly, when I can't remember what I was supposed to be doing, when I am frustrated with something or someone else... I just think about those moments before bed that only Elle and myself share... Those moments when everything is quiet except my voice reading and her little fingers turning the pages. Those minutes before bed that God has blessed us with. It brings us closer together. Sometimes Elle will say a part that she remembers... sometimes she won't. Sometimes I will read only that book, but more often than not, it ends up being five books. (Or more)

I know it might be considered "bad" or "inattentive parenting" to not have a set bedtime for her... To not have her in bed the same time every night... But I don't care. I love reading with her. I love holding her in my arms... And quite frankly, bedtime is the only time when she will sit in my arms! Sometimes I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. But then we read at night and everything- all the frustrations, insecurities, sadness- goes away. It brings me back to earth... Right with Elle.. Right where I belong. I can identify myself with my job- being a MOM... Reading to her. Spending time with her. Cherishing all the laughs and moments throughout the day/night.. When she is "supposed to be in bed". That's when a lot of those moments happen... Those little bedtime blessings I will never forget.