It’s been a longer day and we had a happy late night out with friends. The kids were getting to bed later than normal, and I always feel a bit rushed to get through bedtime routines on nights like that. I’ve observed the unfair tendency to be an impatient mom when I’m feeling rushed. I was just sharing with a friend how I’ve observed that sin pattern in myself and how it is so cruel to have different expectations of my kids when I’m running behind schedule. Sin is always stupid. And this sin is true to that rule: it is stupid of me! I am a stay at home mom. I will be up until 1 waiting for Jordan to get home anyways. We don’t have early morning commitments tomorrow morning. Why does it matter? 

Tonight I did manage to get both kids in bed at the same time, still later than usual, but bedtime was accomplished. I heard hadassah doing her typical nighttime things after I left them…. singing, talking to Pig, reading her books out loud. But it was escalating in volume and it finally woke Rahab up. I headed back to the girls room with the best intentions to give Rahab her paci and just to remind Hadassah that it is night time and that she needed to use calm voices because Rahab is sleeping in there, too. 

When I got back there I realized Hadassah had pulled her sheets off of her bed. To my shame, I was about to lash out in frustration as Hadassah, who was wrapped up in her sheets,  smiled and said, “I’m getting married right now, mom!” 

  
Oh be still my heart. 

So I turned on the light, took a picture (of course), got Rahab out of her bed, and we all cuddled on Hadassah’s bed and we talked about Hadassah’s wedding. 

“Who are you going to marry?”

“I’m going to marry a prince!”

“Oh good! I hope he is just like your daddy!”

“I like daddy cuz he catches light bugs.”

“Well then you should marry a man who catches light bugs with you.”

And then we did bed time things again for both girls. We put the sheets on the bed, we refilled sippy cups. We re – tucked in toes. We cuddled pig again. We prayed again. 

There was time. We made time for a precious moment …. A sweet memory. It was worth it because I know she won’t always be two wrapped up in a sheet “getting married to a prince.” 

One day she will really be getting married, hopefully to a man like her dad who will catch fireflys with her and make her giggle like she’s 2 again.  

But, right now, she’s just two. And while she’s two, sometimes strict bedtimes will be enforced. But, sometimes we will rip the sheets off of the bed and giggle and talk until 10:00. 

And that’s ok.