8 Minutes
With a kid like Jailyn, we have to follow a fairly strict bedtime routine. For the most part, we really try to stay on schedule and cut things out (as needed) to get her IN bed by 9:30pm. On a normal night (when all goes as planned), things would go as follows:
8:20 pm Begin to wrap-up nighttime activity
8:30 pm - 9:00 pm bath/wipe/brush teeth/ready for bed
9:01 pm - 9:20pm 3 bedtime stories
9:22 pm Pretend time with Dadden (mommy sets the timer)
"Bwa-ha-ha-ha...That is exactly what I wanted!!!....Hoo-hoo-ha-ha-ha!!!!"
Laughter breaks out.
Though muffled behind a closed bedroom door, they belt out laughter - so deep that it stirs my soul. It's the kind of joy that starts at the bottom of one's gut and flutters up towards the heart.
I love my dad but never really shared these types of instances with him; moments in time that are both fleeting and precious.---- I know how much Jonathan looks forward to his 8 minutes alone with Jailyn each night.
For 8 minutes, they talk...laugh...discuss nothing and everything. They make/sell lemonade, pretend to be transformers (Jailyn as Prawl and Jon as Optimus Prime of course), work in chocolate factories and eat each other's "great creations" for 1 dollar. They send mail, draw pictures, dance and wrestle. They sing songs, read, "eat" marshmallows and talk about dinosaurs.
In 8 minutes, my adoring husband manages to tell our beautiful daughter how important she is in his life without uttering those exact words.
Love that would transcend a lifetime 8 gabillion times over.
One peck and an "eskimo kiss" later, the gesture is returned.
8:20 pm Begin to wrap-up nighttime activity
8:30 pm - 9:00 pm bath/wipe/brush teeth/ready for bed
9:01 pm - 9:20pm 3 bedtime stories
9:22 pm Pretend time with Dadden (mommy sets the timer)
"Bwa-ha-ha-ha...That is exactly what I wanted!!!....Hoo-hoo-ha-ha-ha!!!!"
Laughter breaks out.
Though muffled behind a closed bedroom door, they belt out laughter - so deep that it stirs my soul. It's the kind of joy that starts at the bottom of one's gut and flutters up towards the heart.
I love my dad but never really shared these types of instances with him; moments in time that are both fleeting and precious.---- I know how much Jonathan looks forward to his 8 minutes alone with Jailyn each night.
For 8 minutes, they talk...laugh...discuss nothing and everything. They make/sell lemonade, pretend to be transformers (Jailyn as Prawl and Jon as Optimus Prime of course), work in chocolate factories and eat each other's "great creations" for 1 dollar. They send mail, draw pictures, dance and wrestle. They sing songs, read, "eat" marshmallows and talk about dinosaurs.
In 8 minutes, my adoring husband manages to tell our beautiful daughter how important she is in his life without uttering those exact words.
Love that would transcend a lifetime 8 gabillion times over.
One peck and an "eskimo kiss" later, the gesture is returned.
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