Bedtime

Here's the usual routine: brush teeth, read a story, say our prayers and go to bed. Easy, yes? no.

TEETH: We've got to have the right tooth paste. The current fave is Burt's Bees. It's orange.

STORY: The story is chosen selectively. Usually we go through a period of repetition. This afternoon we read a new one that need to be revisited tonight. It is called "How a House is Built". It is a very, VERY detailed book properly labeling the joists, outlining the steps of pouring the concrete footings and even explaining that the General Contractor is responsible for making sure the project is done on time. The subcontractors are lined up and named.

Upon the second reading, Sammy wanted to know about the "plumbs". I told him that Grampa Stoddard was a plumber. He wanted to know what they did and why. Why do they put in pipes? Why are they plumbers? What are the pipes for? He landed on two decisions after all this info. 1. He wants to be a plumber 2. He like the picture of the septic tank best [its picture shows it being installed with a dozer]

We've read this story twice. I'm waiting for the reflective questions to pop. Stay tuned.

PRAYERS: Moving right along. Teeth? check. Story? check. Prayers a.k.a. GodBlessYous.

First he starts by waiving Jesus on to second with a complicated pat down of signals loosely based on the sign of the cross. Occassionally, the Father has a Daughter. Then the Lord's Prayer. I'm hoping for a diety with a sense of humor, not the angry, vengeful God of the Middle Ages since his Prayer is only mostly memorized. He tries and does very well, but it is loaded with words that Sam neither knows nor understands. Example? "Hallowed be Thy name" or "Have a be the game"

GodBlessYous always start with Daddy, Mommy, Aidan, Noah, Rocky, Isabelle, Emmit. Tonight he stopped dead. Emmit had to move away yesterday. Sammy wasn't quite sure what to do now. I quickly jumped in with a "special bless you for Emmit in his new home". Sam's day can be gauged by who comes after the pets. Tonight it was Grampa Stoddard (remember the plumber). Then Granny and Pop Wilks. Out of character, he lept from the New England relatives to Aunt Cecelia. (Emmit's mom). He was brief tonight and finished quickly with the immediate family.

SLEEP!! no. He was playing with his brothers in their room this afternoon, where he left a few favorite animals (who are always mentioned in the GodBlessYous). Specifically, he was missing Brown Doggie. I was tired, he was tired. We hugged and kissed and I promised him that we'd find Brown Doggie first thing in the morning. He gave a half-hearted protest. I blew him a kiss and closed the door.

Not a peep since. whew.