Bedtime Rituals

Every night, my mother would always sing my sisters and I a song as she tucked us in to bed. My song was "Lullaby" and sometimes "The White Cliffs of Dover". On those occasional nights when my mother was at a church meeting, my father used to take over the bedtime rituals. He didn't know the words to the songs and, if he did, he pretended not to...probably because we always said, "Daddy, that is not the way they are sung". Of course, mothers are the only ones who can do everything right when it comes to rituals and routines.
My father would sometimes sing "Home, Home on the Range" and then I would beg him to sing "Down in the Caribbean" with the "wide eyed monkey on the limb". It was a 50's tune that played on the radio stations back then and my father would listen to it while shaving in the morning. Recently, I found the song on ITunes and downloaded it. It brought back a lot of memories. Funny how songs can do that.
Often I would not go to sleep, listening and waiting until I heard the door downstairs. When she tiptoed upstairs to check on my sisters and me, I would close my eyes tight and pretend to be asleep. She would always call my name softly. "Cheryl, are you asleep?" But I would never answer, I only squinted my eyes shut even tighter. I am sure she knew I was pretending but she never said so.
When my sons were little, I tucked them in every night and sang those same songs to them. Such a small thing, but so important. Bedtime rituals.



This is from my unwritten book titled,
Stories of our Lives"
Family Treasures that Need to be Told