Tonight the boys were taking longer than normal to settle down at bedtime. I think that the fact that the sun was still shining awfully bright when they were supposed to be going to sleep played a big factor in that, but still! Come on, guys! It was 8:25 when I gave them their last warning that if I heard anyone else out of bed or making someone else laugh, I was going to have to do something about it!
I went back down to the kitchen and something out of the kitchen window caught my eye...two hot air balloons that were practically right over our house! They were so low that you could see the people in the baskets and everything! I debated whether or not I should disrupt the now-quiet bedroom upstairs to let the boys see this amazing sight. They had FINALLY quieted down! How could I mess that all up and risk having to get them all settled again if I told them about the balloons? But how could I NOT tell them about the balloons when they are so fascinated with things like that and it was so amazing to see them so close?!
I decided that it was more worth it to break the rules and go in and tell them to get out of bed and even told them to climb on the desk so that they could see out the window a little better, too. I chuckled to myself at how hesitant they were to obey me when I told them to get out of bed and come stand on the desk and look out the window. No one wanted to do it, but as soon as Christopher scrambled up there, the other two followed right behind him!
I started whispering to them to look at the balloons and we watched and whispered to each other about all the wonders of the colors, the size, the fire that we could see, the people, etc. I'm not sure why we whispered, but it sure helped! Even after the balloons went over the house and I told them to run to our bedroom and look out the front window, we still kept whispering our admirations.
The balloons went down just over the hill, probably very close to my brother-in-law's house, and the boys all whispered good night and went back to bed. They were asleep within five minutes of that little rule-breaking experience! I'm thankful that I took the risk and got them out of bed for this. I have a feeling it's going to be one of those moments that they'll remember when they're older, and I love that! Kind of like the time that Mom and Dad got us all in the van to do something for Karen's birthday at the end of February. We were all in and ready to go when Mom told us to go back in the house and get our swimming suits on because we were going swimming! Swimming in an indoor pool was unheard of to us before that and it was such a treat to go to Steiner Center and swim INSIDE in FEBRUARY! That's a memory that sticks with me because it was so out of the ordinary. That's why I think this will be one of those memories for my kids...because we broke some rules and did something so out of the ordinary. I love it!
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5 comments:
rgood for you, Mar! They'll remember this forever!
Great story! We really like hot air balloons too. Lilly
The balloons are great to see- but you made the moment even more special by inviting them to share it and then making it memorable by the quietness you surrounded it in. Whispering about the hot air balloons will be a memory captured of a summer evening for the rest of their lives!
You make the rules, you can break the rules, (Within reason) You did the right thing. Memories are too precious not to make! And, look at the results...peaceful sleep.
If they ever say anything again about it, remind them that after they settled down, and you knew they could, THAT's when you knew they could watch in awe because they'd settle back down again when the balloons were gone. Good story. The whispering probably kept their quietness down, too.
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