Disco Party

Mallory has always gone down to bed very easily.  Our little routine, as of late, consists of one book, we tuck her in, making sure elephant, stripes, and star and moon are in their respective places.  We then kiss her goodnight, turn Raffi on the CD player and turn out her lights.  There she stays until 6 dot dot 5 the next morning.  Now, as far as I knew, when I turned out the lights she quickly dozed off to sleep…  That is what I thought, until tonight.

Ten minutes after putting Mallory to bed I hear her crying and calling for me from downstairs.  I run down there and she says (as she cries) “I burnt my finger when I was trying to turn off my lamp after I was done reading my book.”

About a million questions begin running through my head as she is talking: Why did you turn your lamp on?  Better yet, How did you turn your lamp on? Why were you reading a book after I put you to bed? Does this happen every night? 

I asses the impending wound on her finger and note that she does, in fact, have a blister forming from a pretty decent “light bulb” burn.  I put a band aid on her finger and we walk back downstairs to her room.  While we are walking I begin to ask the questions that were swirling around in my head.

How did you turn your lamp on?

Well, I used to stand on my garbage can laundry bucket but now I tonight I just stood on my bed and reached it.  (Seriously, she had to reach at least 2.5 feet across to get to the switch to twist the lamp on.)

Why did you turn the lamp on?

I wanted to read a book

Why were you reading after I put you to bed?

Because I wanted to read a book

(Ok, so this question-answer session is getting me nowhere.)

Do you do this every night?

Just when I want to read a book

(I am done with the questions. Done.)

Into her room we walk and I realize that Raffi is no longer playing on the CD Player.  It has been replaced by a children’s Christian Rock CD.  In that moment I feel like I just walked into my teenagers room.  I feel like shaking my head in wonderment as to what is going on.  The lamp is still on. There is rock music blaring from the radio.  What is going on??

Mallory, what happened to Raffi?

I like this CD better.

I turn the rock music off.  Though full of Jesus love, it is clearly too fast paced to soothe anyone to sleep.  I put Raffi back on and tuck Mallory in for the second time.

Goodnight, I tell her.  Stay in bed this time, ok?  You could have hurt your hand much worse by touching that lamp.  You are lucky it was only your finger and not your whole hand.  What would you do if you only had one hand?  (Yes I went that far in the “why why why did you do this?)

Her answer, as quick as she is, was:  “Just use this one.”  And she waves the non-injured hand at me.  Not snotty, just as matter of fact as she is…

Goodnight Mallory.  I’ll see you in the morning. Stay in bed.