Spring Sing

We were blessed with a visit from Jasper, Bennett, and their parents over Spring Sing weekend.

I wish I had blogged about that weekend before now - I would have remembered more details.

Anyway, they arrived late Thursday evening. I had expected the boys to be sound asleep for most of the trip and so had their parents. It reminded me of several trips I had taken with my kids.

It was about 1983 and we were going to Ohio. We had hitched a ride with a couple that were neighbors of ours in Searcy. They were also from Ohio and had generously offered to take me and my two little ones to Ohio. That was before car seats and we had the entire back seat to ourselves. I put our suitcases on the floor and made pallets with our pillows and blankets. It never occurred to me that my kids wouldn't sleep at all on the trip since it was nearly an 18 hour drive! We had started out shortly before their naptime. Not only did they skip thier naps, but they were wide awake - content with taking in all of the night lights as we traveled on and on. We eventually arrived in KY at about 11 PM and they were both still wide awake! We got settled in our room for the night and they both fell asleep pretty quickly.

Even though we had a very late night, they both awoke as usual at 6 AM. We were back on the road by 7 and they remained wide awake, through thier naps again. I am still amazed when I think about that trip.

Back the the weekend visit - healthwise, I was feeling really good - another blessing for which I am very thankful and I was so excited to see them!

I looked forward to waking up the next morning to see them both! We hadn't made any specific daytime plans and I anticipated a relaxing day of spending time with them. We had a great together and I was excited about getting to put them both to bed Saturday night while thier parents attended Spring Sing.

I retreated several times that day for a rest period - I wanted to preserve my energy for that evening. I still had abundant bonding and playtime with both boys.

Jasper was ready to be put down a little earlier than expected but I was able to hold him off. I knew he would go down easily but I was still amazed that he went right to sleep! I kept tiptoeing to the room and holding my ear to the door, but he never made a peep! After about 30 minutes, I opened the door and went in for a peek. He was sound asleep and he looked so precious!

Meanwhile, Bennett was playing with cars and half watching a video under Papa's watchful eye. I played cars with him for a while and then announced that we had 10 minutes until books and bedtime. He didn't protest much which surprised me a little.

It was time, so I tucked him in and closed the door. He lasted about 5 minutes before I heard the patter of his little feet and he jumped into the living room with a look of pride and satisfaction, along with a big grin and a giggle.

I wasn't too surprised at that point since Jennifer had prepared me. I tried to look stern and took him back to his room. I explained that he had to stay in bed - just like when mommy and daddy put him to bed. I confess that, at the time, I didn't know if my little speech would take. I gave him another hug and reached to turn out the light. He was fast asleep in a few minutes.

We had a great weekend together. I'll post a few photos tomorrow, since it's getting late.

Aren't grandkids grand??? As I like to say, they are a special blessing from God.

ELDA

ELDA is an acronym for a test I administered to four Hispanic students this week. During my down time, I hand wrote several blog entries. I am typing them tonight and will post them over the next several days.