Three Sleeps

Are there other parents out there who refer to nights as "sleeps?" As in, "only four sleeps left until the weekend!" Not unlike other nuances of parenting, I don't know how this "sleep" verbiage started and I don't refer to overnights as "sleeps" on a regular basis, but sometimes the reference just slips out of my mouth and makes Ben smile and then I think that it's a pretty darn cute way to refer to the transition from bedtime to morning.

My ex and I "swap" Ben every three days. Three days with me, three days with the ex and so it goes. Ben has the routine down and often reminds me that he still has remaining days with me, which of course warms my heart to no end.

But it seems like the schedule has been hitting us hard on the weekdays lately, which is always difficult for me because I work a few nights every week. I've shared the the disappointment before of leaving the family home in the late afternoon hours, only to return several hours later with Ben fast asleep and those early evening hours that I cherish so much, gone forever.

This last rotation, I found myself with Ben on a Saturday, Sunday and Monday night. No work for me on any of those nights! Three opportunities to transition my child from his busy day to a dreamy night.

It was very sweet to fall into a rhythm this week of enjoying dinner together, assembling Legos, reading a stack of books and lulling Ben off to sleep with a back rub.

I am reminded, yet again, of how fleeting these years are and of how much Ben craves and anticipates the steady and predictable nature of our nights together. And I have a new found appreciation for those blocks of time that come around every few weeks or so, when I have no nightly obligations except to be his mommy.