Somebody’s Missing Me

I think maybe I've mentioned it before, but Kate has the cutest bedtime ritual. I know that habits are unique to each child, because I think we approach it basically the same way we did with Sam, but she's modified it to suit her needs. After getting pjs on (We call them jammer pants. I don't know why.), we head to her room and sometimes read a story. Sam often sits with us on her bed to read the story, and I let each one pick one. Then Sam says good night, and we head to her rocking chair to rock. "Let's rock, Mommy," she says. When we rock, we sing. Not just me, we. She likes to sing "Jesus Loves Me," "Twinkle Twinkle," and "Hush Little Baby," which I do not know the end of but make up to rhyme, so she'll never know the difference. She sings full voice, and for Christmas we added "Away in the Manager," which she still likes to sing and often acts out. (She points to the sky for "stars in the sky" and looks down at the ground for "down where he lay"). We say prayers, and she's a very prolific prayer. She likes to thank God for Daddy and Mommy and my Sammy and Mamaw and Papaw and GrandmaGranddad, and Maddie and Kate! Oh, and now she says, "Thank you for all my family. Thank you for all my friends," when she's in the mood. It's all very cute.

I think the best part, and the saddest, is when she realizes that bedtime has arrived. She pulls up her blanket and says, "Somebody's missing me" in the saddest little voice you've ever heard. I'm not sure if she's missing someone, or if she thinks she's missing out on the fun, or what she means exactly. I always say, "I'm missing you, but I'll see you in the morning." She usually cries a little bit as I leave, but stops within about 30 seconds and goes off to sleep. It's a really sweet bedtime habit, and it's the same almost every night. "Somebody's missing me…"