By Mark Gallant
I crawl into the bunk and wrap my arm around him. It’s the only way I can get him to fall asleep. Sometimes it requires a story, sometimes a song. Or two. Tonight we sing about drunken pirates and that bridge in London. But mostly it’s my presence that does the trick.
He snuggles close against my chest. His eyes are closed, breathing slows and deepens. He’s almost there and I plot my escape. I look down and notice a smile has formed at his mouth and he says, “Mmm, Dad, your armpit smells good.”
I chuckle and kiss his cheek.
Uplifting story that captures the difficulty of sleep time rituals and its heart-warming rewards. Nicely done.
Very sweet!
Love it. Captures the magic of an ordinary moment. It reminds me how short a window span we have with our children.
Clever ending. How like a child!
Kathleen Manson.
What a beautiful moment!
aww – I remember the days of trying to get the kids to sleep – this brings me back to that moment when they ask for one more story. It is hard at the time, but to be able to go back to that moment. sigh very nice.