The ‘pitter-patter’ of little feet…

There are times when I love listening to my girls’ footsteps as they walk or run through the house or outside. I can almost always tell just by the sound, which one of the three it is. Our hallway floors creak, so depending on which child is walking there – the creaks sound different. 

The one time that we don’t like hearing the creak of the floor or the footsteps of a little girl is after bedtime, when they’re looking for any excuse not to have to stay in their beds. It doesn’t happen often, thankfully – but they make up for that with a fierce tenacity and determination that is difficult to say no to, especially for their daddy, who isn’t always around before bedtime.

Our oldest is the most often offender, with the oft repeated plaint of, “I just can’t fall asleep!”. This, as she’s rubbing tired eyes, of course… My usual answer is that she’s even less likely to fall asleep standing there in the hallway than lying in her cozy bed, so she needs to get back there pronto. Then, of course, there’s the common “I need a drink” or “I have to go to the bathroom”, and the more recent, “I’m scared of the noises outside” (we recently moved her bed over right next to the window).

She sleeps with her beloved blankie and an entire menagerie of stuffed animal protectors, including her oldest and best-loved teddy bear, or ‘monster keeper’ (as in keeping monsters away) as she dubbed him several years ago. Between her plush friends, the nightlight shining on her dresser and the lullabies that play, there’s really no reason that she should be up so much and so late into the night. And yet, she is. With increasingly creative excuses sometimes – we’ve heard everything from, “are there storms tonight?” to “my eyes won’t stay closed!” or “I forgot to *insert whatever task she’s thought of*!”. Our answer is almost always the exact same – go back to bed. Go straight to bed. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200 and do not come back out again! 

In a way though, it’s fairly easy for us to deal with her excuses and complaints – once we get through the litany and she runs out of steam, she’s usually off to dreamland. No, it’s her youngest sister who’s been the biggest source of stress and frustration for her father and I. She’s finally sleeping back in her bed though, after several months of insisting on sleeping in her doorway on the floor.

Yes, she’d carry her blankets and pillow over there – every single night. We’re still not exactly sure why, but I didn’t object too much – at least she went right to sleep.  Usually. 

This post was written as part of the Parent Bloggers Network’s blog blast on ‘Are You Afraid Of The Dark?’, in conjunction with Sylvania.