Hot Dogs for Breakfast

Last night the kids had a "late night" with some friends.  They played soccer and built Legos and around 9:20 we decided to put in a movie.  The plan was that the kids could watch a few minutes of the movie then around ten we'd send the neighbor kids home and we'd get to bed. 

The kids were loving the movie, I thought it was pretty lame.  It featured jumpy, awkward camera shots, an antagonist who never materialized into anything more than a burst of wind and some intense music, and a story line that left me scratching my head.  (My punishment for borrowing from the library rather than spending a dollar to get a "real" movie from the Red Box). 

At about 10:15 the plan backfired.  I got the neighbor kids out the door without a hitch.  I watched them cross the street and get into their house safely.  But back inside the house my kids were disappointed that they weren't going to be able to see the rest of the movie.  Normally, I can hold my ground without a problem but there were three factors working against me last night. 

The first is that the boys are off track. When we don't have to worry about school the next day, bedtime becomes a lot less black and white and slides into the gray area. 

The next is that Kedar is out of town.  If he has to be gone for work, I try to do some "fun things" with the kids to make the time go by more quickly for all of us.  Staying up late and finishing the movie seemed to fit into the "fun thing" category.

And the final factor, that ultimately caused me to cave, was the way that they asked.  There was no whining and crying or pleading.  My three children looked up at me with angelic faces and spoke to me to me in loving and polite tones.

So, we were up late last night. 

This morning the kids were unfazed but I was still bushed.  I sat up in bed trying to pull myself out of my sleepy stupor.  Aubrey came tumbling down the stairs and into my room.  Her hair was a curly, early-morning mess and the smile on her face said that she was ready face the day.

"Mom, stay in bed!  I'm gonna get you some food," she said and was in the kitchen slamming cupboards in a blink.

Sitting in my bed this morning, I had an internal struggle.  I could hear the kitchen being summarily trashed and my first thought was to rush in and intervene.  But then I thought about what my daughter was trying to do, how excited she had been to do something nice for me and I resolved to stay put.

She came back into my room holding in one hand, a plate full of irregular slices of hot dog and in the other, two forks.  She clambered up onto the bed with me.  Together we enjoyed a breakfast of cold hot dogs and lots of giggles.

Not a bad way to start the day.