Hannah
Fact: an adult that is accustomed to sleeping alone will probably not sleep as well with a 5-year-old in their bed.
Hannah is a 5-year-old that mom has cared for since she was 3 months old. She has been at Mom’s house nearly every weekday since she started coming and sometimes on weekends and overnight. She is more than a babysitting charge. She is the grandchild Mom doesn’t have; she is the niece that Mom’s children don’t have. She has gone on vacation with us; she has gone to church with us; she has gone with Martin and Dad while running errands for work. In short, she is family.
Hannah started school in early August. Because of school and the fact that her parents are splitting up, Hannah no longer comes to Mom’s very often. It’s pretty hard to go cold turkey on Hannah. I didn’t get to see her very much anyway, but for years, I’ve stopped in at Mom’s house between jobs, after work, on my way to school, etc. to get my small dose (sometimes only five minutes) of Hannah. I got a thrill every time I stopped in and she would come racing to meet me and jump into my arms.
For the past month when I’ve stopped in at Mom’s and asked if Hannah was there, all I got was a “no.” So when Hannah’s mom called yesterday to see if she could come stay while she went to the grocery store, Mom was glad to say she could come. She called Kris and I to tell us that Hannah would be there for a while and that we could come see her. We were doing homework and wondered if she couldn’t come over to our house instead. Mom said that Hannah wanted to be there. (I think that Mom wanted Hannah there.) So Kris and I went over for a while. Hannah gleefully told me that she could stay until she called her Mom to come and get her. Hannah was going to help Mom clean the playroom so Kris & I told her that we would go do more homework and then call her later and we would do something.
Mom called several hours later to say that Hannah had just gotten up from a very long nap and wondered what we wanted to do with her. I asked her if she had any suggestions. She said that Hannah thought that maybe we could have a Sleepover for her at our house. I told her that would be fine. Since Dad and Martin are on a trip this weekend, Mom decided to order pizza for supper and we could eat over there. Hannah and I went to get the pizza and then after supper she came home with Kris & I to spend the night.
I had a few misgivings about her spending the night. I thought back to the last time she spent the night with me. She may have been eighteen months old at the time. Everything had started out all right. I had fixed a spot on the floor for her and put her to sleep just fine. Around 2 or 3 in the morning, she started to cry. I did all that I knew how to do to get her to stop and she wouldn’t stop. She repeated something over and over, which I finally figured out was an attempt to say Mom’s name. I finally gave up and started up the stairs into the garage to take her to Mom’s, not looking forward to waking her up at that early hour. Around the third step from the top, Hannah finally stopped crying. I stopped where I was and stayed there for a good five minutes waiting for her to go to sleep. I descended the stairs and sat down with her for a few minutes to get her good and sleeping before I put her back on her blanket.
So I feared her backing out on me at the last minute last night. Her mom had said that if she changed her mind at the last minute to just call her and she’d come get her. We entertained her for a while then I fixed her a big bubble bath and music in the bathroom and let her play in there for a while. When she finished her bath, Kris lay on my bed for a while and let Hannah rub her back. Hannah then declared that she was ready for bed. Kris tucked her into my bed and left the room. I was at my computer and fully expected her to get back up, but she never did. When I finally went to bed, I had to move her legs out of the way to get in.
At one point during the night, Hannah was lying in a position perpendicular to me with her legs on top of me and I think her head nearly off the bed. I turned her ninety degrees and went back to sleep. She poked me several other times with her legs and kicked the covers off several times. It wasn’t the most restful night of sleep I’ve ever had but I’d didn’t mind. This morning she shyly thanked me for letting her spend the night. I told her that we’ll have to do it again.
I love Hannah.
Hannah is a 5-year-old that mom has cared for since she was 3 months old. She has been at Mom’s house nearly every weekday since she started coming and sometimes on weekends and overnight. She is more than a babysitting charge. She is the grandchild Mom doesn’t have; she is the niece that Mom’s children don’t have. She has gone on vacation with us; she has gone to church with us; she has gone with Martin and Dad while running errands for work. In short, she is family.
Hannah started school in early August. Because of school and the fact that her parents are splitting up, Hannah no longer comes to Mom’s very often. It’s pretty hard to go cold turkey on Hannah. I didn’t get to see her very much anyway, but for years, I’ve stopped in at Mom’s house between jobs, after work, on my way to school, etc. to get my small dose (sometimes only five minutes) of Hannah. I got a thrill every time I stopped in and she would come racing to meet me and jump into my arms.
For the past month when I’ve stopped in at Mom’s and asked if Hannah was there, all I got was a “no.” So when Hannah’s mom called yesterday to see if she could come stay while she went to the grocery store, Mom was glad to say she could come. She called Kris and I to tell us that Hannah would be there for a while and that we could come see her. We were doing homework and wondered if she couldn’t come over to our house instead. Mom said that Hannah wanted to be there. (I think that Mom wanted Hannah there.) So Kris and I went over for a while. Hannah gleefully told me that she could stay until she called her Mom to come and get her. Hannah was going to help Mom clean the playroom so Kris & I told her that we would go do more homework and then call her later and we would do something.
Mom called several hours later to say that Hannah had just gotten up from a very long nap and wondered what we wanted to do with her. I asked her if she had any suggestions. She said that Hannah thought that maybe we could have a Sleepover for her at our house. I told her that would be fine. Since Dad and Martin are on a trip this weekend, Mom decided to order pizza for supper and we could eat over there. Hannah and I went to get the pizza and then after supper she came home with Kris & I to spend the night.
I had a few misgivings about her spending the night. I thought back to the last time she spent the night with me. She may have been eighteen months old at the time. Everything had started out all right. I had fixed a spot on the floor for her and put her to sleep just fine. Around 2 or 3 in the morning, she started to cry. I did all that I knew how to do to get her to stop and she wouldn’t stop. She repeated something over and over, which I finally figured out was an attempt to say Mom’s name. I finally gave up and started up the stairs into the garage to take her to Mom’s, not looking forward to waking her up at that early hour. Around the third step from the top, Hannah finally stopped crying. I stopped where I was and stayed there for a good five minutes waiting for her to go to sleep. I descended the stairs and sat down with her for a few minutes to get her good and sleeping before I put her back on her blanket.
So I feared her backing out on me at the last minute last night. Her mom had said that if she changed her mind at the last minute to just call her and she’d come get her. We entertained her for a while then I fixed her a big bubble bath and music in the bathroom and let her play in there for a while. When she finished her bath, Kris lay on my bed for a while and let Hannah rub her back. Hannah then declared that she was ready for bed. Kris tucked her into my bed and left the room. I was at my computer and fully expected her to get back up, but she never did. When I finally went to bed, I had to move her legs out of the way to get in.
At one point during the night, Hannah was lying in a position perpendicular to me with her legs on top of me and I think her head nearly off the bed. I turned her ninety degrees and went back to sleep. She poked me several other times with her legs and kicked the covers off several times. It wasn’t the most restful night of sleep I’ve ever had but I’d didn’t mind. This morning she shyly thanked me for letting her spend the night. I told her that we’ll have to do it again.
I love Hannah.
posted by Sharon @ 3:55 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Little kids and their hugs are awesome, aren't they?
Indeed, they are!
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