Bedtime.  Boy, this can be rough sometimes. I don’t know about you, but my girls come up with all kinds of ways to delay bedtime.

“Can I have a glass of water?”

“I need to go to the bathroom!”

“Can we read one more book?”

“I need to go to the bathroom again!”

And, my personal favorite, “Can we cuddle?” I mean, how can you possibly say no to that?

One night, my youngest taught me something:  I needed to be present in saying goodnight. She took her hands and created the shape of a heart. She asked me to do the same and so I did. She put her heart right up to mine and said, “Our hearts, together forever.”

This was one of those incredibly precious moments of motherhood. This was such a tender and sweet gesture…I loved it.

Turns out, she did, too. She repeated this again the next night and so began our nightly ritual. I know this helps us both complete our day. No matter how bad my day may be, I have this one moment that I look forward to each night. It is something that is SO special to both of us. If I have had a crazy day, this is the one moment that grounds me.

I know she won’t do this with me forever. I know one day I will likely have to do this on my own just imagining that precious little girl who taught it to me. For now, I will cherish this time every night.

The idea caught on in our house. Danica determined that she wanted her own “saying” at the end of each night. As with Alex, she came up with it on her own. Then, daddy also decided to get involved. Of course, his are funny, very funny.

If you like this idea, try it. I love it and my day wouldn’t be complete without it.  If you could choose to be present for just one moment in a day, this is a great one.