threestinkyboys: October 2007

The other night Matt and I got the kids into bed and finally laid down, ourselves. Matt immediately began snoring, and I just laid there like a tired, heavy pile of week-old laundry that really needed attention. There was too much on my mind to sleep. Actually, I rarely miss sleep due to stress; stuff just doesn't get to me, somehow. But on this particular night I had too much to think about to simply allow myself to drift into unconsciousness. (Nothing terrible, just life.) Anyway, I was slumped on the bed feeling terribly restless, when I heard Jesse, not in his bed where he belonged, but playing somewhere in the room. I took my time contemplating how I was going to respond to this. I didn't have the motivation or energy to force him back into bed, and besides, he obviously wasn't any more sleepy than I was, and I could use the company. So, he followed me out of the room and we did what everyone does when they can't sleep. We poured a bowl of cereal. After we'd shared it, Jesse asked for some dry cereal in a cup, which he nibbled on for a minute while we watched the news. Then inspiration hit. I went strait for the peanut "m's," as Jesse calls them. Everyone knows that nothing beats peanut m&m's in the middle of the night. So we snacked and watched till we got bored, then we changed the news to cartoons; much more entertaining. After a while things wound down and both of us mellowed, and I caught Jes staring up at my face from his seat beside me on the couch. He was smiling, and I turned toward him and leaned close. He leaned in too, so I said "I love you, Buddy. Thanks for staying up with me." He puckered his lips to give me a kiss, and when I was within one millimeter of his sweet, tired little face, he opened his mouth wide, exposing a tongue covered with chewed chocolate. This, of course, was accompanied with a fiendish growl and followed by a weak giggle. I imagine my reaction was everything he hoped it would be. "Ick! Jesse! That's disgusting! I thought you were being sweet! Eeew. ...You're gross." (The tired giggles faded behind me as I walked into the bedroom and climbed into bed. Jes gave me a second to get over it, then followed me into my bed, hogged my side of the blanket, hunckered between his dad and me, and went to sleep. Talk about a heart-breaker.