bedtime moments

Last night's bedtime was eventful. Firstly, Ella read to ME. And this time, it wasn't just her trying to recollect the story or making her own story up to go along with the pictures, she actually READ to me. And she is doing really well with her reading! It is one of those things that seemed to happen overnight and she is enjoying it. I am too...it makes me proud to hear her putting sounds together so confidently.

In further bedtime news, after stories were read, Ella and I spent some time cozying up in her bed. She wanted me to tell her some stories from when I was a kid (she always likes these types of stories) so I came up with a few. The second memory/story I told her was something like this:

Every summer, I stayed with my Grandma Florence and because she worked so hard in her beauty shop, my cousin Katie and I had to come up with things to entertain ourselves. Grandma bought us a membership to the local swimming pool and we spent most afternoons swimming and sunbathing. Most of the time, we didn't take any money or snacks with us so by the time Grandma came to pick us up, we were famished from swimming and running around all afternoon. On one particular day, she collected us from the pool but had to go right back to work. When we got to the house, she had some hamburger cooking on the stove, crumbled up with onions like she was making spaghetti sauce. The smell was heavenly and Katie and I were STARVING! So, even though we knew this hamburger was meant to be part of the family meal, we devoured it just between the two of us. And then we proceeded to make root beer floats. When Grandma came back to the kitchen to finish preparing dinner, she discovered the meat was all gone. My grandpa was livid. Halfway through my root beer float, I set the glass down and declared that if I ate another bite, I would surely be sick. Frustrated by our gluttony and selfishness, he replied, "You served yourself all that food, you better finish it." I protested. "But I'll throw up if I eat any more!" He stood his ground. I finished the root beer float and then ran to the bathroom just in time to throw it all up! YUCK!

When I finished this story, Ella burst into tears! (What terrible judgment on my part to share such a memory!) She said, "Mommy, I wish I could have been there to tell him not to do that! He shouldn't have made you eat all that!" She was genuinely sad and disturbed and full of empathy for me. I tried to soften the blow by telling her I felt better afterward and that Grandpa was really a nice man, he just wanted to show me how selfish I had been. Somehow, I distracted her from the horrors of the story and we moved on. But I was left feeling moved by her care for me and compassion.

Ella truly does get sweeter every day and I love our times before bed when all is quiet and the light is dim. Our new baby will be here in a few weeks and we're all looking forward to meeting her and seeing her face and doting over her. But for now, I am relishing the times with the older two and know that in the next few months, our night times will look different. Every moment is precious and I am drinking them in now more than ever.