You never know what might happen at our house when the grandkids sleep over. We play musical beds all night, if they sleep at all. My girls tell me it is FOMO. After all, there are very few rules at Gigi’s house. Kindness is key and obedience is expected, but almost anything else goes. Why would you want to sleep through that kind of freedom? The two littlest ones are still easy. A glass of chocolate milk, an out-of-tune lullaby, a few minutes in the rocking chair, then there’s the slow steady breathing of a child at complete peace. I do cherish those moments. The first and fourth grandchild gradually fall asleep during the calm-down movie marathon, then are carried off to bed. Well, one is. The other is left where she falls because we can no longer carry her up the stairs. (She has full warning that she will be left downstairs.) Now the second and third grandchildren are the sleepover troublemakers. And by trouble maker, I mean they simply don’t believe in sleep. One is determined to make it to midnight, then he happily calls it quits.
But the other, she just won’t close her eyes.
This past weekend, she and I shared a blanket as we wound down from the day. There were steady snores from various parts of the house, but she wasn’t ready to let the day go. My eyes were heavy with exhaustion and my body sore from trampoline chase and pirate ship battles, but I heard the soft whisper as it wandered into my space.
“Gigi, you’re going to need a nap. It is almost morning and you haven’t slept.”
“No baby, it is still 6-7 hours til wake up time.”
“But can we make the muffins now?”
“No baby, it’s almost midnight, and we need to sleep.”
I drifted off, then heard the request repeated, several times. Followed by the “please, please, please.”
How does one resist that sweet little plea? I was too tired to argue, so up I got with a giddy little girl. I fumbled around until I found everything we needed, then watched her crack two eggs into the bowl. Not a single shell! At her age, this called for celebration. The excitement and pride in her eyes erased any exhaustion I was feeling, and we celebrated.
Side note: At Gigi’s house we do chocolate chip muffins, and we don’t settle. Extra handfuls of chocolate chips are always thrown into the batter, so we make the chocolatiest chocolate chip muffins around. Another reason in itself to celebrate!
Half past midnight, the muffins were made and served. She sat proudly on the bar stool while I soaked in her smile. Little one talked and talked and talked. She told me about preK; she told me about heaven; she told me about katydids; and she reminded me of the frog that jumped on my arm and made me scream.
Y’all, I nearly missed it.
We were lost in a world made for just the two of us. A world where her hopes and her dreams were all that mattered.
My world will never be the same because I saw her world.
After the sweet conversation, we scrambled back under the covers.
“Gigi?”
“Huh?”
“I think I’ll close my eyes now.”
And she was out.
Don’t miss the midnight muffins.
