Thursday, February 21, 2013

Bringing It Back

For a long time now, we haven't been doing nighttime read alouds.

Evenings are such a mad dash, from the beginning of dinner through til bedtime, that I felt like there just wasn't enough time - and, to be honest, I didn't have enough energy.  I justified it by doing our literature read alouds during the day with my kids, as a part of our homeschooling day, and left it at that.

Lately, however, it has felt like something is missing.  Without reading as our last little family communion at the end of the day, bed time became little more than this:  "It's time for bed.  Go on up."  And while that kept things short and sweet and efficient, well, efficiency isn't everything.  And I realized I missed that time with my kids, even though we had read together earlier in the day.


Well, at 9 months pregnant, I certainly don't have any more energy these days...but I do feel that nesting need to really hunker down with my kids and enjoy them during these last few weeks without the excitement and distraction of a new little one in the house.  So it just felt right to tell everyone to get into their pajamas and meet me up on my bed for a little night reading.

Sure, there were interruptions.  3 year olds are squirrelly little things, and something about being on Mama's great, squishing bed just makes the littlest one want to bounce, bounce, bounce!  But we made it through, reading 2 chapters of "Mrs. Piggle Wiggle" and laughing right out loud, all of us there together.  My heart caught a bit, remembering so many evenings spent that way with my own Mama, as she made her way patiently through All of a Kind family, the Happy Hollisters, the Narnia series, and so many more besides.  I remembered sometimes we'd make her keep going and keep going that she'd drift off right there, and we'd snuggle in, delighted to just be with her, until my Dad came up and shoo-ed us to our respective bedrooms.

Snuggled up with my 5, I couldn't believe the time that's passed - and how very blessed I am.  We might not be able to get to it every night, but it is a goal of mine - to read to those little ones and love them right through their childhood, just as I was so very loved.  At the end of a long day, with it's missteps and mistakes, it feels right to spend their last waking moments making memories together.  


I close the book and it's last kisses and hugs for all of them, tucking 5 little souls into beds.  Even my oldest catches my hand and pulls me in, patting my belly and whispering "Night, baby" to his yet-to-be-born baby sister.  I wrap up the night like a gift, make my way downstairs with a light and thankful heart.


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14 comments:

  1. All of a kind family!! I loved that book.

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  2. Yes! We've already read through it a handful of times. There are a few more in the series as well!

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  3. Beautiful. Making wonderful sweet memories.

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  4. Beautiful. I'm popping over after reading your loving comment on my Yarn Along post, and I do believe I have found a new "friend!" We work hard to remember how important that last book or two of the day is to our little one. The teenager has grown out of it, but we have other rituals with her. Blessings on your time together!

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    1. Yay! Welcome, Erin! It's great to "meet" you. I agree, as the older ones can read on their own, it's easy to let those moments slide...but the little ones still need them so much!

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  5. I really like this blog post :) I remember my mom reading books to me and my sister years after we learned how to read and it was such a cozy and nice way to end the day. I'm sure it helped us to relax. My husband and I used to read to our daughter, but lately she prefer me to tell a little story (she participates in telling the story) while I'm knitting. Like you I'm 9 month pregnant, but I'm so tired I fall asleep right after my daughter ;-) (That said, she's NOT tired, so it's she who falls asleep late rather than me who goes to bed super early.)
    I'll definetely come back to your blog!

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  6. We started doing this when my son was about 3 and my daughter 1. We always read together but this was when we started chapter books. We started out with the Magic Treehouse series and made it through the first 40 books. We haev since branched out more and have read Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, Little House In The Big Woods, Charlie And The Chocolate factory, the entire set of the Little House On The Prarie smaller chapter books, and many others. Next on the list is Charlotte's Web. Now at 6 and 4 we still do this about 3 nights of the week. the rest of the nights we do individual reading.

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    1. Sounds lovely! We've done all of those books at different times...I'm realizing it is time to revisit Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little since some of my kids weren't even around the last time we read those.

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  7. Beautiful! I love our little bedtime rhythm of reading before bed, on nights we miss it, usually when little man is really tired, I really feel like something is missing.

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    1. Yes! We've been at it for this past week and it is fast becoming one of my favorite times of day - right up there with our morning devotional time. Just having a counterpoint to our morning coming together really just feels like a natural rhythm. Obviously it won't happen every night always, but when it can happen, it is certainly special!

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  8. We too have let ourselves get caught up in the businees of bedtime and have been forgetting about story time..thanks for sharing this, will make sure to grab a book off the shelf tonight!

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    1. I've noticed that it's really made bedtime go more quickly and smoothly after all. So funny - for awhile there I thought it was causing the mayhem. Turns out it really does soothe it!

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  9. That was so incredibly touching! We have tended to let bedtime reading slide by the way recently, tonight that is going to change! Thank you for this beautiful reminder!!

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