WOW, is it really Tuesday night (almost Wednesday now) already? I started this post Sunday morning, but then “life” got in the way of me actually finishing and posting it! Brayden’s been fighting a little stomach bug the last couple of days, and last night (hopefully) was the worst of it. I’m praying that tonight he sleeps peacefully, now that it’s all out of his system (literally).
So, pretend it’s Sunday…
8:30am this morning, my eyes barely open, I look at the clock. POP! I’m up and out of bed. “Time to get up,” I tell Will as I gently open the curtains. “We have to go get Zack.”
“Why?” he asks.
“M and T are coming over at 9:15am!” (*names kept private*)
Zack had a sleepover at the neighbor’s house right next door. They have 3 kids, their youngest, also a boy, a few years older than Zack. They had been playing together for several hours yesterday afternoon while Brayden was sleeping and Will and I cleaned out the garage (I must say it is sooo nice to be able to park my car in the garage again – just before winter!). Will and I had a party to go to, and we were invited to bring along our boys, but I thought, how nice would it be to just have one at the party? I walked over and told the neighbor I had a proposal, to which she could say “no” if it wouldn’t work for her and her family.
Lucky for me, she was happily open to hosting a sleepover. We both double-checked with Zack, just to make sure he would be okay sleeping somewhere other than at home, and almost before we could finish asking him, he was excitedly nodding his head “yes!” He has spent the night away from home, without Mommy or Daddy, a few times before, so I knew he would be fine.
I slipped back home and packed a quick overnight bag with jammies, pull-up, toothbrush, blanket, pillow, 2 buddies (Doggie & Teddy – yes, those are the unique names that Zack himself gave them), and clothes for the morning. Back next door, I gave instructions to Zack, the neighbor, and once more to Zack. I gave him a big hug and kiss and told him to have fun and I’d see him in the morning.
About and hour later, Will, Brayden and I were off to our party. It seemed oddly surreal to not have Zack with us, especially because it was so much quieter in the car! We arrived at the party and were greeted by happy friends, all wondering where Zack was? We told everyone he was at a sleepover, and most people responded similarly with “oh, he’s such a big boy!” Yes, he is…
As the party began to die down (it was pretty mellow to start with), and the time started getting closer and closer to being way past Brayden’s bed time, we agreed it was time to go. We changed Brayden into his jammies so he could fall asleep for the short 15 min car ride, buckled him into his car seat, and drove home.
Walking into our dark, quiet house, I again had a surreal feeling. It was so peaceful; I welcomed the silence, but still there was a slight emptiness. I knew Zack was safe and sound next door (and hopefully sound asleep) so I just whispered good night to him one more time and blew him a traveling kiss.
Aside from knowing that we had two other little friends coming over for a play date in just 45 min, what really got me up and out of bed was wanting to give Zack a big, giant, good morning hug! As soon as I was dressed (it really doesn’t take long to throw on a comfy old pair of house sweats – not always proud of this, but hey, it’s real) and Will was up and taking care of Brayden, I bounced down our front steps, navigated across our front yard, and knocked on the neighbors door. Zack was still in his full-footed, camouflage jammies, playing space Lego’s (or something of that sort). I asked how his night was, and in his usual 4-year old response, he said “good.”
I got him dressed and his makeshift bed on the floor somewhat cleaned up. I re-packed his overnight bag and got the full report from the neighbor. “He was perfect,” were her exact words. Wow! I was so proud of him, he really is growing up!
I knew he had fun because he didn’t want to leave. He kept wanting to show me “one more thing.” I finally got him out the door when we could see his friend’s car (well, actually, the parent’s car…) pulling up into our driveway. He was so excited to share that he was just coming home from a big boy sleepover. And then, of course, he asked when he could have his next one. 🙂
How old were your kids when they had their first sleepover?