Bedtime Stories

We've been having a tough time getting Mia to go to bed at a decent hour (i.e., before 9:30 p.m.). She is so full of energy, she just doesn't want to wind down. She begs for "more milky" (oh, yeah, she is also going through a phase where she thinks it is cute to add a "Y" on the end of her nouns), insists she is hungry (I am not sympathetic to this, after she eats a snack that would put The Very Hungry Caterpiller to shame), puts on and takes off various nightwear (usually ending up with just a camisole and a night-time diaper) and on and on.

The only thing that really works is getting her into the rocking chair and turning out the lights. That is her cue to ask, "Mom, tell me about my day." I first did this one night when I was having a particularly difficult time winding down, and it has become a nightly ritual. It goes something like this (with daily variations, of course), "Daddy woke you up but you said you wanted to sleep some more so he went off to work. Then Mommy woke you up and you said you wanted to sleep some more but Mommy said we have to get ready for school. You decided to wear your red dress and the purple bow...." The plain-old everyday details continue as I recount the days events in my most soothing, hypnotherapy-worthy voice. Periodically, Mia breaks in with, "You forgot....." at which point I exclaim, "You know, you're right!" and rewind the tape, adding that tidbit. Sometimes, she editorializes on my description of something we did together ("... and Mom was not happy") or announces with great authority something that happened at preschool ("Evan had an accident"). Since I can rarely on direct questioning get her to tell me anything about what she did in preschool, I like having these little windows on her day - even when she tells me, "Sofie told me to take my shoes and socks off on the playground and I got a time out."

After I recount the big and small events of the day, I wrap up with the standard finale. "And then you sat in my lap and I told you about your day."