The night Sydney spent the night at Mom & Dad's, she decided she would sleep with Aunt Amy, rather than in her own bed. I have a queen sized bed at my house, but at mom's I have a full size. I'm always rolling over at moms and throwing an arm into the wall or a leg into the window. Even in my own bed, I rarely get a night where I sleep really well. I am also a night owl, and am usually the last person asleep in the house. Ok, I admit, when it comes to my sleep, I'm a bit of a diva.
So when Sydney said she planned to sleep with me, little panic impulses went through me. Then I remembered the last time I was home she planned to sleep with me, but changed her mind when it was actually bedtime. We snuggled in bed for a while, read books and watched some tv. She got out pictures. She loves to look at pictures. The pictures were mostly of my Dad. She held one to her chest, sighed, and said 'I just love my PopPop so much'. Sydney really is a sensitive child, and very emotional.
At 9pm, we went downstairs to brush our teeth and get ready for bed. She was certain she would sleep with me. I decided to embrace it as a good bonding experience for us. What's one night of little sleep for being close to Sydney? We went upstairs to bed, and decided to watch Toy Story 2 for a little bit. She promised me she would fall asleep. She had her two little blankets, plus the comforter on the bed. We watched the movie for a few minutes, then she rolled over towards me, away from the TV. I asked her if she wanted me to turn it off, and she said yes. I got up to turn off the TV, and as I crawled back over her, I had to fight to get some of the comforter.
It brought back memories of sharing a bed with my sister. When we would visit Grandma & Grandpa, we shared a sofa bed in the Florida room. Laura always stole the covers. Grandma tried to make things better by giving us separate sheets and blankets. That solved the blanket stealing problem, but Laura also fights and kicks in her sleep. And sometimes, she would wrap her arms and legs around me. I would feel like I was suffocating. Laura has always had very long arms and legs. It was this behavior that led me to give her the nickname of 'Squid'. Because it felt like it was all arms and legs, wrapped around me. Eventually, Grandma & Grandpa remodeled the garage and attached porch into living space, which essentially created another two rooms. Mom & Dad took the old garage, and I moved to a sofa bed on the old porch, while Laura stayed in the Florida room.
When Syd started stealing the covers, I said to her 'It's just like sleeping with your mother!'. The little girl who had seemed to have one foot in dreamland woke up and wanted to know what else her mommy did, and what she was like. I have waited for this opportunity! I didn't tell her all the things I could have. Primarily because Sydney is a very smart girl, and I did not want to give her ideas. I told her that her mother used to follow me everywhere. I figured this was useful information, since Sydney will soon have her own younger sibling. I told Sydney that sometimes it was very annoying when her mommy followed me, but I know she was just curious. I explained that as the big sister, we get to do everything first, and sometimes the younger ones feel left out. She asked who else is a big sister, and I started naming family members she knows. She wanted to know more stories about her mom. I told her that once I started driving, her mother and I would go exploring after school. Laura always wanted to know where different people we knew lived. We had some grand adventures, including getting stuck in mud season!
I told her that her mother likes bathrooms. No matter where we went, Laura would go to the bathroom. Just to look at it. It's not that she needed to use the bathroom; she was just curious about people. The more I talked to Sydney, the more tired I became. She, on the other hand, became more awake. She kept talking, and talking, and talking. There is no clock in the room, but I know she talked for well over an hour (I found out from Mom & Dad the next morning that it was an hour and a half).
Around 10pm, she jumped out of bed. I asked her where she was going, and she said 'to play on my swing set!'. I had to tell her she couldn't go play on the swing set. Darkness did not seem to be enough of a reason why not, so I had to get creative. She kept asking me why she couldn't go outside. Finally I told her that her swing set was sleeping. Sydney laughed at me, and told me that swing sets don't have eyes, so they can't go to sleep. I told her the whole world goes to sleep when it gets dark. So she started naming things in the room, and said they were sleeping. The tv, the dresser, the closet, the light, the clothes. This is where Dad opened the bedroom door and wanted to know what was going on. He tried to sound all fierce, but I know he was stifling a laugh. He told her to go to sleep.
Sydney kept talking, and about 10 minutes later mom came in. She kissed Sydney good night again, and told her to go to bed. When mom left, Sydney started crying. She and Mom are very close, and Sydney did not want mom to go. I pulled Sydney into my arms and she fell asleep pretty quickly.
I know I didn't get much sleep Sunday night. I was worried about her. Plus, I kept wondering how such a little person can take up so much room! Sometimes she'd be curled up in a little ball, and then other times she'd be flat on her back, legs and arms all sprawled out. She would roll into me and snuggle, and then she'd wrap arms and legs around me. It really did feel like I was sleeping with Laura again. Except with Laura, I could slap her and push her because we were sisters. We were almost the same size. Sydney is a lot smaller than I am, so I just kept readjusting, moving over closer to the wall.
Sometime during the night she fell out of bed. We have decided this room must tilt a little bit, because my sister fell out of bed in that room too. It must tilt towards the center of the room. I felt Syd fall out of bed, because she took the covers with her! She landed on this little cushion of blankets. She didn't even wake up. I scooped her up and placed her back on her pillows. She muttered 'My Pooh Blankie'. I told her it was right here, and patted it for her, and she went right back to sleep. My parents never heard her fall. When I told my mom about it the next morning, Sydney piped up and said 'Aunt Amy pushed me'. The little monster! Making up stories.
The sun comes up around 5:15am this time of year in NY. I had the window open and I could tell when it was daylight. I would roll over and check on Sydney, then roll back and close my eyes again. I rolled over around 7:30, and her eyes were open. I asked her if she was up, and she jumped up and said 'Let's play!'. Later, Dad asked her if she had fun sleeping with me. She told him 'Yes, but I was up when the sun came up and I had to wait for Aunt Amy to get up'. There she goes, telling stories again.
Overall, it was a sweet experience. I am touched that she felt close enough to want to sleep with me. We have a great relationship, and the bond seems to get stronger each time I see her. When we were reading books, she pulled out the 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' book I got her for Christmas. I bought it at Hallmark. It has a recordable chip in it, so I recorded myself reading the story to her. At the end of the story, I tell her 'Merry Christmas, Sydie bear! Aunt Amy loves you!' Mom has told me that Syd plays this book over and over and over again, and when she hears my voice she tells mom how much she loves me. So when she brought the book to me, she said 'I'll read this to you'. She opened the book, and the story played. She told me 'this lady is really busy!' I asked her who she meant, and she said, 'the lady reading the story'. We got to the last page, and Sydney said, almost breathlessly, 'This is my favorite part'. I asked her why, and she said 'Because you have a special message for me'. Aww! If I didn't already love this little girl so much, she would have just won my heart.
I will have to remember next time I'm home to put her against the wall in the bed though. Then she won't fall out. She'll probably just push me to the floor and take my blankets!
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