The quiet click clack of the door knob being turned slowly woke me. I knew one of the boys was sneaking in again. The big king size bed in our room had enough space for what I like to call “creepers” to join in the night. I was so tired I didn’t even open my eyes. I heard the gentle sound of the door being closed carefully, followed by the quiet pad of feet across the carpet. I felt the bed dip slightly as he climbed up on it and up to the open pillow.
Not sure which one it was, I reached out in the dark with my eyes still closed. I felt his hair, and ran my hand down his face, smiling to myself. As I reached his shoulder and then his arm, I realized his shirt had no sleeves. It was Oliver. He hardly ever snuck in at night anymore. Recently, he requested from his Mema that she get him some shirts with no sleeves. He had been wearing them since Sunday.
We both turned over and went to sleep. My alarm woke me hours later, but I didn’t get immediately out of bed. Reaching out to the nightstand, I put my glasses on and began the daily practice of procrastinating. The sun was just starting to come up as I heard the doorknob click clack again. I looked over and it was Jude. He stood there a moment with one hand on the door knob and the other one rubbing his eye sleepily. I patted the spot next to me and he closed the door and ran over and hopped up on the bed.
He snuggled himself in between me and Oliver. After a few fidgety minutes, he fell asleep. Not long after that his arm plopped over on top of me, his hand landing on my face, as if he were trying to deliberately hold my attention, even in his sleep. I carefully reached over to grab my phone and took a picture, chuckling to myself.
Eventually, I had to make myself get up. I eased out of the bed, sliding the covers back into place quickly so the cold draft of air wouldn’t wake them up. I meandered around the house quietly getting ready, eventually heading back into the bedroom. Jude had moved around in his sleep again. Without even being conscious of it, he had rolled the other way as if looking for comfort from another direction after I had gotten up. His sweet little face lay against Oliver’s head.
It reminded me of a cute picture I once took of a similar scenario when Elijah and Isaac were around that age. I was glad to be able to snap a quick picture to remember these cuties.
she-nan-igans 