Cuddling

My husband's job requires him to travel (not as much as he used to but still on a semi-frequent basis). Traveling on business sounds sophisticated and luxurious, especially when I used to travel with him and play tourist. But now it is less luxurious and more obnoxious. I don't really begrudge the opportunities for work, or the overnight hunting/camping/scouting trips, but I do admit to sleeping with all the lights on in the house and usually watching chick flicks until I fall asleep around 2 am.

But lately, when he travels, I still get a nighttime cuddle buddy. My children have an amazingly easy bedtime routine. We can put them both down to bed in less than ten minutes. However, my little two year old has a sneaky little habit. Somewhere between 1 and 3 am, she likes to quietly sneak out of her bedroom, tip toe up the stairs and patter down the hallway. She stops every few feet to listen and see if she will be caught and sent back to bed or if she can get away with it (we've watched her do this). She finally makes it to the door of our bedroom and peers in. If we are awake, we hide our smiles and sternly take her back to her room. But if we are asleep, she will sneak across to daddy's side of the bed. She whispers (something that I have never been coherent enough to discern) and in our sleep muddled state, we pull her in like a cuddly teddy bear to sleep in between us. She insists on cuddling next to daddy but wants a handful of my hair (her favorite comfort item) as well. When morning comes, we usually remind ourselves that we really ought to not this be a habit and go on to the next night, where we are again too tired to rouse enough to actually take her back to her bedroom.

When daddy travels, I still go through the motions of the bedtime routine and put her to bed in her own room. And then I go to my room, spend the next four hours watching movies and wishing she would come cuddle me. I finally turn off the movie, and am just drifting off to sleep when my sweet little teddy bear climbs in, curls her warm and solid little body against mine, wraps a fistful of my ponytail around her tiny hand and finally, we sleep. :)