Dean’s usual routine before bed is to take a bath, drink warm milk, brush teeth, read a bedtime story, wave goodnight to the world outside, and curl up in the crib.
Tonight we were winding down the routine by reading Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. I could tell he was getting very sleepy, and I lowered my voice in the cool, dark room. As I read the words “Goodnight mittens”, Dean began waving his tiny hand in the air in front of the book, as if to say goodbye. He hesitated as I turned the page, and then began waving again to say goodnight to the characters and objects in the story. When it was time to say “Goodnight room”, he pulled the book to his face and kissed it good night.
After the story was over, we pulled back the curtains hiding the large windows in his room and waved goodnight together to Hong Kong Island, the boats in the ocean, the bridge crossing the water, and the lighthouse outside. When we were done and the curtains were closed, he gave me a giant wet kiss on the cheek, then reached for his bed, where he quickly snuggled up with blue blankie and a soft elephant toy.
That was it. I haven’t heard a peep from him since, but a part of me wishes he would wake up right now so we could read that story over and over again.
No comments:
Post a Comment