Dear Kids,
Here’s one I want you to remember . SBE has gotten me into the habit of lying down with him pretty much every night. It started out with me reading a chapter of Harry Potter to him, and now it’s that and lying down with him and sometimes playing Candy Crush (but don’t tell Ima; she wouldn’t approve and would probably yell at both of us if she found out). Like I mentioned in Movie Night, I know it’s only a matter of time before you’re too old to want me to lie down with you, and I dread the day I try to go into your room to get you ready for bed and you kick me out. But until then, I will lie with you every night and savor it as one of the greatest moments of being a dad.
Now, I know my children, and I can already hear the disturbance in the space-time continuum. SBR and SBK, I lay down with you as well; admittedly, not to the same extent as I do with SBE, but still, you got your share. SBR, to be fair, you had Ima’s and my undivided attention for almost 2 years, and I snuggled many a time with you in bed, and there were times you slept in our bed instead of your crib. SBK, you, too, got a good amount of nights that either Ima or I stayed with you in your bed as you fell asleep. Once you moved into bunk beds, it got harder as SBR said I was too heavy and not allowed to get up on the top bunk. Also, for years, Ima would work in the evenings, and the 4 of us would get ready for bed and settle into my bed where Ima would find us all huddled under the covers together sound asleep.
So, yea, you all got your time with me, and I didn’t mean to imply that I would only cherish my time with SBE. I will never forget all the times we spent falling asleep together, and I’ll always remember how you used to fight over who got to lie down next to me (almost always it was SBK. Poor SBR was always the good big sister and gave up the spot, but it still made her sad, and I always felt bad about that, but we both recognized that this was the better option than the alternative).
That’s really it. I just didn’t want you to ever forget how I used to lie with you as you fell asleep, and if you didn’t know before, please know now that I loved it so much, and I very much miss that special time (OK, so technically, as I write this, I know that SBE will be expecting me to lie down with him this evening, SBR will be jealous I’m not lying with her, and SBK may or may not ask me to lie with her…only to kick me out of her bed as soon as I get comfortable).
Love,
Aba
