For the longest time, Lily wanted nothing to do with us at night time. She had her own room, her own routine and we could just get out of the way, thank you very much. When she wasn't feeling well or had too much going on in her head, sometimes Mark would sleep with her but in her room, not in ours. Recently, however, she has discovered the joy of sleeping in our bed. Most mornings I wake to the sound of my door opening and Lily climbing into the bed, usually just before dawn. Since Mark's been out of town, she's been making the trek to our bedroom when the moon is still high in the sky. Last night it was 10:30, the night before that one am.
Climbing into bed with mom and dad is not an unusual thing for a kid to do, but the path she has to take to get here is somewhat unusual. You see, in order for Lily to get to our room she has to go outside to our deck, cross over to the stairs, climb down (including the extra tall one at the bottom), cross the lower courtyard and enter our room; all under the light of the moon and the canopy of stars above. People are astounded by this when I casually mention her travels. Quite frankly, I am as well. But here's what I've managed to remember: with kids, whatever is, is. It's not unusual because this how it has always been for her. I worry about her falling on the stairs or a wild animal magically learning to leap ten feet into the air to wait for her on the deck or an earthquake knocking down the stairs and making it hard for us to reach her or... we'll, I'm a mother, the list is endless. But none of these issues have ever occurred to her. Why would they? This is the path she must take if she wants to slip into bed with her parents and sister. Screaming for Daddy also works, but it takes so much energy and makes so much noise. She'd rather do it, "MYSELF!"
Even though it scares me, I love this about children. I love that they can just live in the moment and go with the flow. I love that they seem to know so much more than us fear-addled adults. Sure, sometimes they're wrong and get themselves in trouble, but do you honestly think we don't often lead them astray? I just keep trying to remember that children learn by doing, not by listening to how someone says it should be done. Sometimes that includes failure. Most of the time it includes a journey under the stars with the moon lighting our path and the cool night air wrapping around us, urging us to hurry to the safety of mom and dads big warm bed.
