With three sick kids, today was a totally exhausting parenting day. So by bedtime, I was in a real rush to get everyone down for the night.
But my six-year-old decided he needed to organize the stuffed animal collection on his bed. They had gotten messed up earlier. They were out of order.
He sleeps with his stuffed animals every night, the same way that I did when I was a little girl. And he always needs them just so before he gets tucked in.
While he was carefully arranging his teddy bears and puppies and monkeys, my first instinct was to hurry him through it. I really wanted to be done with parenting duties for the night.
But then I sat back for a minute on the floor.
I watched him concentrate on his task. I watched as he made two piles. One for the “favorites” and one for the regular stuffed animals. I watched him smooth down his sheets, just so. He always says he has the coziest room in the whole family.
And he does.
And even though the day has been too long, and I’m overtired and cranky, it still struck me –
How sweet it is to have a little boy, secure in his bed, safe as long as his collection of stuffed animals surrounds him just so.
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