Elijah and the Lullaby

Oh, the glorious, miraculous hour of the day that is bedtime. Isn’t it wonderful?

After the often chaotic, frequently frustrating flurry of brushing teeth, washing faces, and all the rest of the stuff that goes in to getting two little boys ready for bed, comes the beautiful, snuggly settling-down time of day where my cuddly, pajama-clad children nestle close to my hubby and me for a bedtime book, a Bible story, and family prayers. Then it’s time for goodnight kisses and hugs, whispers of, “Good night” and “I love you, Mommy,” and tucking in our little ninjas.

Now, granted not every night is that idyllic. Some nights the boys are still hyped up from the day and don’t want to settle down, wiggling around and jumping off the bed to grab toys from around the room. Other nights they are over-tired, cranky, and fighting with each other over who gets to sit with Daddy or Mommy.

When we only had Elijah, bedtime was similar, with the exception of one thing. Every night right before we tucked him in, I sang to him. It was a carryover from when he was really little, and I sang to him while I nursed him.

With the arrival of Josiah, our bedtime routine got shifted around a bit. We’d read our book and Bible story, say our prayers, and tuck Elijah in, and then I would go feed Josiah before putting him to bed. Even after Josiah was weaned, the routine stayed the same.

Mommy and Elijah

Then one night last winter, as I was telling Elijah good night and tucking him in, he asked me, “Can you come back in and sing to me after you put Josiah in his bed?”

I realized in that moment that while I sang to Josiah once I took him into the nursery, I hadn’t sung to Elijah for quite a while. It made me a little sad to admit it.

So, I promised him I’d be back in as soon as Josiah was down.

That night I climbed up in his bed beside him, and he asked me to sing “Jesus Loves Me,” I think because he’d overheard me singing it to Josiah. Then after I sang, we talked, just a little, about our day. Then I kissed him good night, and left a very contented big boy cozy in his bed.

From then on, it became our thing. Every night, without fail, he would ask me, “Will you sing to me?” and I would come back in, cuddle up and sing him a lullaby of his choice. Some of his most requested songs were “Jesus Loves Me,” “Skinamarinky Dinky Dink,” “A Bushel and a Peck,” and “O Holy Night.” (Yes, singing a Christmas carol in the middle of July). He also liked when I made up songs about him, Josiah, and their cousins.

Always after I would sing, he wanted to talk. So we talked about all kinds of things. It’s where we talked about what it meant to be baptized, after he saw the story of John the Baptist and Jesus on the Kids Bible App. It’s where we talked about him starting kindergarten in the fall and all the fears and excitement and questions he was facing.

With all the transitions we’d gone through after bringing Josiah home, I hadn’t really been able to find much for Mommy and Elijah time, and clearly it was something that he was desperately craving. I remember telling him when I was pregnant with Josiah, that if he ever felt like he needed Mommy, all he needed to do was ask me for a hug or come sit with me if I were nursing Josiah. And he did do that, often. However, what we didn’t have was time to share with each other without the distractions of the house, dinner, or his daredevil little brother getting in to things.

Our new nighttime routine gave him his mommy back in a very special way.

Since he’s started school, we don’t get to have our Mommy/Elijah talks every night, just due to the fact that he HAS to go to sleep. On the nights we can’t, I sing to both the boys before we give hugs and kisses and tucks-in. However, on those days when we can, they are some of the most precious minutes of my day.

Oh, the glorious, miraculous hour of the day that is bedtime. Isn’t it wonderful?

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