"And there are TWO beds, daddy!" Alexis sat curled up on one of those beds talking to her dad on the phone as I listened in from across the room.
We were staying at Castaway Bay for just one night, but it only took minutes for Alexis to be enchanted by the whole experience. She continued to describe the hotel room and her plans while she was staying in it. "I'm going to wake up in the middle of the night and get a snack and momma won't know because she'll be asleep in the other bed!" she declared.
She had already expressed to me that she was excited about the prospect of having a bed to herself. And so was I. I've been trying to get the kid to sleep in her own bed for nearly six years now. I didn't have the slightest idea why having a bed that was "hers" was such a treat. She has two of those at our house, but its never been a fact that she found even remotely interesting. No amount of bribery or coercion or even stern demands have ever come close to convincing her to try sleeping in her own bed.
But that night she was absolutely determined to do so.
Eventually the hour turned late and the excitement and chaos of the day started to catch up with her little body. She had spent two solid hours playing on water slides and jumping in the wave pool. Her yawns told a story that her mouth wouldn't--she was ready to rest. She denied being sleepy, but I knew better.
I turned off the TV, shut down my laptop, and flipped off the lights. "Goodnight, momma!" she whispered across the dark room.
"Goodnight, Alexis," I replied.
I closed my eyes and began to stretch my legs across the expanse of empty bed. Before I could even take a single breath, I sensed something standing beside me.
I hadn't heard her. She moves like a ninja at night. I could feel her there, though.
"Come on, you can sleep with me," I whispered.
She crawled into the bed and wiggled her way into her favorite spot beside me.
Four seconds. I had a bed to myself for a whole four seconds.
