Waiting, Always

As bedtime comes, the girls are tucked away into their beds and receive numerous kisses and hugs while we secretly hope that it doesn’t take them long to get to the land of slumber.

And then we wait. The wait can last for nearly two hours or it can be unusually short at ten minutes. This wait. It will continue every evening until the girls are out on their own and in charge of their own lives. Whether it is waiting for them fall asleep or waiting for them to come home from a date or some other activity. I will always be waiting. I will always be awake.

As I wait, I will divide my time up in doing some things around the house. The whole time I will wonder how long I will wait on this particular evening.

And then silence. The wait lingers on until I know for sure that dreamland has begun.

When the wait is over, I always go into their room. I always re-tuck them in to make sure they are warm. I always give them another kiss on their cheek or forehead. I always whisper “I love you” into their ears.

Sometimes they’ll be upset that I’ve disrupted them for a moment. Sometimes one of them will toot from the disruption. Sometimes one of them will smile. And sometimes one of them will whisper “mmmm…I love you, too, mama.”

As life can be so chaotic at times, it is this one time of the day where I am able to appreciate what I have, with a clear head. My little family. All under the same roof. All safe in their beds.

If waiting gets me to these “always” moments for years to come, I will wait. Always.