Travelingjenny

It is a fact that Grace does not like to sleep. She has never liked to sleep. As a tiny baby, she would cry and cry instead of sparing us hours of agony by simply closing her stubborn little eyes. Adam and I both have many memories of walking in circles around the house with her, or bouncing on the exercise ball, or singing songs in the middle of the night – trying anything possible to get her to fall asleep. On the other hand, Tess has always been a good sleeper – at least, she has been ever since I figured out that she just wants to be placed in her crib and left alone (what, no rocking, singing, or swaying??). This is something I have always appreciated about her. And then today, something magical happened. Something I never thought I would witness with my own children. After she finished her lunch, Tess started going up the stairs, saying, “Night-night, pease… Mommy… Night-night, pease.” I love that child.

My mom has always told me that I loved to sleep as a young child, and that before I could talk, I would stand by my crib when I was tired, waiting for her to put me in it. I always chalked that up to nostalgia – surely that wasn’t true, surely children don’t really ever do that – surely as the years passed my mom started remembering things differently. But now I realize that her memory could actually be accurate, and I thank my lucky stars (and the magic of genetics) for having at least one child who likes to sleep as much as me!