My mom thinks she's too young to be away from family.
She is only six, after all.
I don't know how old I was when I first stayed overnight at a friend's house, although I'm not sure chronology had much bearing on the decision way back when.
Geography was a more likely determining factor.
No one wants to drive too far in the middle of the night to retrieve a crying child. Likewise, no one wants to impose a lengthy period of waiting while another parent has to sooth your homesick sprog.
But here we stand on the bank of this new territory as Ittybit tiptoes in.
It's not a big deal. It's just a few hours.
But there's no denying this waking desire for independence is also a trickle in the river of emotion that will one day separate us.
OK. That's a little dramatic, mom.
I could have picked some age as a benchmark that she would have to reach before she could ride this particular ride.
But unlike an amusement park regulation, this measure would be arbitrary.
She's ready now.
She is brave and willing to explore now.
So we agree. She can go and spend the night with her friend.
Excitement may keep her awake longer, but when she finally closes her eyes, she'll likely sleep through until morning.
If I'm wrong, it's only a few minutes of lost sleep and a few miles in the car.
6 comments:
My first legitimate sleepover was when I was seven, several of us boys set up tents at a friends house and were allowed to camp-out that night in his backyard. I came home just after midnight, banging and screaming at the door for them to let me in after walking the half block from the backyard we were camping at, subsequent to the fact we had knocked down each others tents during a late night game of “Army”, and had no place to sleep…
The most exciting part of that night was when our normal bedtime came and went and we realized we were in control of our own destiny for the remainder of the night with tents filled with Root-beer soda, candy, and other sugary snacks…I guess that’s why the tents came down.
I hope Ittybits night goes a bit better.
Later…
That sounds like a really memorable night, though. I'm just hoping hers doesn't include any crankiness. She can be a grump if she's tired and prevented from sleep. Even when she's having fun.
Yes…yes it was, and I had not thought about that night for many years until this blog post stimulated my memory.
Another great event of that evening was the telling of a spook story featuring a horrendous character named, “Red Moley”, by two of the older boys. This tale was a total on-the-spot improve fabrication by these two and to this day I’m somewhat still amazed at its original content, story line, and its ability for several years there after to send a shiver down ones spine by just the mention of “Red Moley’s” name after dark, by all who heard this story that night…Even though we knew it was untrue.
Truth is, it was “Red Moley” I was thinking about as I turned off the street-light lighten avenue and down our dark driveway and panicked when I opened the screen-door, only to discover that the exterior door was locked…I would have sworn that ole Red Moley had singled me out and followed me home and was now lurking in the shadows behind me.
How'd it go?
My daughters first sleep over was at her grandparents house, 40 minutes away. She lasted until about 3AM, then we got the call. My parents were on their way back with her, crying hysterically. She was fine the second she walked in our front door. They waited another few years to try it again, and by then, they had moved 4 hours away. No more midnight runs home.
She had a lot of fun. Giggling until 11 p.m. kind of fun.
And, anonymous, she had her first away from home experience last summer. She spent a week in Maine with her grandmother and aunt, uncle and cousins. There were some rough moments, but not four-hour retrievals. We learned to talk by phone only when she was having a a good time. It was better to let her get through the rough parts without our voices.
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