“Sleeping In”

As many of you know I have been sleeping terribly lately. I awoke at 6:30 Christmas morning relieved to have slept through the night. I lay there wondering if I had time to run and plug in the tree and set the bottles of sparkling grape juice by the stockings.

One of the big pleasures of Christmas morning, now that I am the mom and this is a working holiday, is hearing the kids scurry around to get each other and then come in to wake Paul and me. They are so excited and I love seeing that anticipation on their faces. The thought of them catching me running from the living room just wasn’t as fun. So we waited…and waited…and waited. Finally we heard a little voice and then a little scurrying, followed by the shuffling sound of slippers approaching our door – and walking right past it. I minute later we heard a soft knocking, then, a loud “Merry Christmas, Grandma!”

They had gone to my mom’s room!

I tiptoed through the house and peeked around the corner. Christopher and my mom were down the hall in the laundry room. Lydia was perched on the guest room bed and Eden was wiggling under the covers. I hissed “Psssst!” and then ran back to bed.

There was no movement.

I knocked on the adjoining wall and a little knock replied. We were sure this would summon them.

It didn’t.

I knocked again…and again.

Paul and I were beginning to consider our next move when the shuffling slippers approached followed by a little knock.

“Come in!” we shouted.

And they did.

…………………

Later we asked why they hadn’t jumped on our bed to “wake” us, as is tradition. Lydia had awakened around 6:30, “…but I told myself, ‘Don’t get up yet. That’s too early. And then Eden woke up and so we got Christopher and then we went past your room and it was dark so we went to see if Grandma was awake and there was a light.”

When we knocked she had thought we were telling them to quiet down.

As if!