Mommy powers

David and I were just finishing up watching Little Dorrit when a small voice spoke up from around the corner of the kitchen, "I can't sleep. I tried everything, but I can't sleep." It was Noah, and at 10:20pm, he was frustrated that he couldn't get to sleep, though he knew he should. (Noah likes to do "the right thing" and often feels bad for not meeting our expectations, though we aren't hard on him. It's just his way.)

So I sent him back up to his bed, suggesting he read a book. Soon, I was up there with him, trying to figure out how to get him to fall asleep. "I'll read you a book!" I said, and he replied, "That always works - you have Mommy powers. I always go to sleep when you read to me." So we read Raggedy Ann and the Kite, and he did nod off. Reading a child to sleep is one of life's sweetest gifts. It doesn't happen a lot, as I'm a mom who usually tucks kids in and lets them drop off on their own. But sometimes it does happen. I've had this happen a few times with Noah, but I can't remember it happening with the older kids. I think they were all sleepier than he, having played with one another all day. They rarely had a hard time dropping off once I had tucked them in, sometimes with a single story, sometimes not. (I have the same habit with Noah.)

During the story, we had a little conversation about dads, and how I always tried to please my dad, but was often naughty for my mom. I explained to Noah that when my daddy was home, he was all kisses and fun. Of course, my mom was also affectionate with me, but she spent so much more time with me, and I was more apt to act up for her. Noah quickly surmised this information, "I think you were good for your dad because he wasn't home a lot." Out of the mouths of babes.

I assured him that I did get to see my dad a lot when I was a child, but not as much as my mom, and then we began to talk about children whose fathers are overseas in the war. Noah told me about a little boy in his school who had fallen to tears during recess one day. Noah guessed that his father was in the Navy, and he was right. The little boy was surprised, and they began to talk. Noah told me, "I just knew his father was in the Navy. I just knew. Sometimes I just know things." Perhaps, like me, Noah is a good guesser. I also feel odd that I often know something I have no reason to. I always chalked it up to chance. This puts me to thinking I should pick some numbers for the next big lottery.