The snug

Libby has trouble going to sleep.  Well, going to bed.  Like most kids, I suppose.  Well, except Mae Mae.  Ok, I remember I didn't want to take naps.  I must have been very, very small, but I distinctly remember resisting my mom on a daily basis at naptime.  I would insist that I was not tired and she would insist that I lay down anyway and close my eyes.  She would then make it worse by sitting in a chair between my sister's bed and my bed and monitoring our closed eyes while she read a book.  Then the next thing I'd remember, I was waking up!  And I was so annoyed with myself for actually falling asleep!  So I do have a teeny bit of patience with Libby when she tries to negotiate to stay up later and then gets out of bed a few times after I tuck her in.  Sometimes I lose my patience quicker than other times, I admit, but I try to give a few chances.

Tonight, she opened her bedroom door and stood there, waiting for me, knowing I was listening from the office.  I say, "Libby, go back to bed."  She says something I can't hear.  So I go to her.  She has her blanket and bear and says she wants "a snug".  I say, "What's a snug?"  She says, "It's when we snuggle."  pause  "Can we snuggle on the sofa?"  I say, "no, it's bedtime," as I walk her back to bed.  She says, "can we snuggle in bed?"  And I know that even if this may be a negotiating tactic, that there are a million reasons not to say no to this request.  So I tuck her in and pause a minute to put my arms around her and give her a snug.  She whispers, "thank you".