Some nights, I can hardly keep my eyes open as I come through the door. All I want to do is curl up in bed. Have you ever had one of those days where you just. can’t. do. it? Yeah? Is your mom battery dead?
Then it’s time for *cue fanfare* Family Rescue! Get everybody in on it and you can turn that bedtime battle into a favorite game. Everyone into pyjamas, stat! Breakfast for dinner! Seriously. Nothing’s easier than scrambled eggs with a bit of cheese and onion and whatever veggie you fancy tossed in. If Dad can take the ball and run with it, have him run you a bath and then run the kids off to bed. But, on those occasions where either a) you’re both too pooped to pop or b) dad has to work late, then have your kids put you to bed.
Everyone pile into the biggest bed in the house with favorite books, blankets, stuffed animals and whatnot. Have your kids read you a goodnight story. My son can’t read yet, but on nights like tonight, he’s a take charge kind of guy: “Mama,” he says, patting his bed, “you sleep now. Here. Here. I’ll make room for you.” He lifts his covers and places them gently over me, tucking them under my chin and making certain I’ve got the choicest stuffed animal for a snuggling companion. Once he even sang me the sweetest lullaby, something about nice skeletons. He’ll tell me a bedtime story, mixing Fox In Sox with a camping trip we once took and a good dose of whatever classroom drama was happening at the moment.
Warm, snug, and supremely loved. Sometimes, mamas need to be taken care of on the everyday days, not just Valentine’s Day and birthdays. So the next time you haven’t got the energy to make it til bedtime, get the family to help. You deserve it.