Pleiades Bee

Skip to content
  • Us
« Your Fourth Birthday
Green vs. Pink »

The Things We Sleep With

P4037995

I remember the stuffed animals and dolls I slept with, when I was little. I remember making caves for them with my blanket and legs. I remember feeling guilty about who slept next to me, who did not, and who fell to the floor in the middle of the night. My grandma once told me a story about my aunt taking her new shoes to bed with her. One of my favorite scenes in the movie “A Christmas Story” is when both brothers go to bed with their Christmas treasures. Since Sophie was a baby she has gone to bed not only with stuffed animals, but with the bedtime stories she chooses for the night. The boys have begun insisting on sleeping with their favorite car of the day. And James must have the quilt Nini made for him when he was in the NICU. And Owen must have his favorite book, “Goodnight Moon.” There is a comfort in sleeping with something, someone, you love.

The day after Sophie turned 4 she saw a play—”Rapunzel”—at the Taft Theater in Cincinnati with her Grandma and Paw Paw (a birthday gift from her parents). She loved it. She still talks about the actors who ran off the stage, with the same enthusiasm and awe as I retold the story of the children running out from underneath Mother Gigogne’s skirt in “The Nutcracker,”—a play I saw with my mom and grandma when I was about Sophie’s age. I still have the souvenir playbook from the ballet—I put it out every Christmas. At the end of “Rapunzel,” Grandma bought Sophie a tiara.

She loves it.

Obviously.

‘There is a latent fairy in all women, but look how carefully we have to secrete her in order to be taken seriously. And fairies come in all shapes, colors, sizes and types, they don’t have to be fluffy. They can be demanding and furious if hey like. They do, however, have to wear a tiara. That much is compulsory.” —Dawn French

Related posts:

  1. Sleep Position
  2. Beautiful Sleep
  3. Things I Heard …
This entry was written by kara, posted on May 1, 2012 at 11:15 pm, filed under All and tagged birthday, Grandma, Nutcracker, play, Rapunzel, sleep, Sophie, theater, tiara. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.
PREVIOUS
« Your Fourth Birthday
NEXT
Green vs. Pink »

  • Kara Gebhart Uhl on Facebook Pleiades Bee on Twitter RSS Feed Receive Email Updates from Pleiades Bee Kara Gebhart Uhl on Google+ Kara Gebhart Uhl on Pinterest
  • Us + Contact Me

  • My Instagram

    Sorry:

    - Instagram feed not found.
  • Favorite Essays

    Choosing Compassion in a Culture of Fear

    Seeking the Bigness in the Everyday

    The Love in Trying

    The View from Up High

    Season of Innocence

    The Huffington Post guest post: Apologies to the Parents I Judged Four Years Ago, a TIME's top 10 opinion piece in 2012

    Simple

    Changing Love

  • Things I Love

  • Links I Love

  • Archives

    • 2020
      • June (1)
    • 2019
      • May (1)
    • 2018
      • January (1)
      • February (1)
      • June (1)
    • 2017
      • April (1)
      • May (1)
    • 2016
      • February (1)
      • March (1)
      • August (1)
    • 2015
      • January (4)
      • March (1)
      • May (1)
      • November (2)
      • December (1)
    • 2014
      • January (10)
      • February (6)
      • March (3)
      • April (3)
      • May (1)
      • June (4)
      • July (3)
      • August (2)
      • October (5)
      • December (11)
    • 2013
      • January (8)
      • February (14)
      • March (18)
      • April (10)
      • May (7)
      • June (12)
      • July (6)
      • August (4)
      • September (6)
      • October (2)
      • November (2)
      • December (2)
    • 2012
      • January (27)
      • February (10)
      • March (9)
      • April (12)
      • May (15)
      • June (12)
      • July (15)
      • August (11)
      • September (9)
      • October (12)
      • November (8)
      • December (19)
    • 2011
      • January (18)
      • February (13)
      • March (18)
      • April (17)
      • May (14)
      • June (11)
      • July (17)
      • August (10)
      • September (19)
      • October (15)
      • November (12)
      • December (16)
    • 2010
      • January (17)
      • February (10)
      • March (15)
      • April (21)
      • May (10)
      • June (13)
      • July (17)
      • August (19)
      • September (21)
      • October (23)
      • November (14)
      • December (19)
    • 2009
      • January (21)
      • February (20)
      • March (25)
      • April (22)
      • May (30)
      • June (17)
      • July (27)
      • August (28)
      • September (19)
      • October (17)
      • November (20)
      • December (19)
    • 2008
      • May (22)
      • June (25)
      • July (26)
      • August (24)
      • September (24)
      • October (26)
      • November (20)
      • December (21)
  • Tags

    andy art birthday christmas colleen dinner discipline family fashion florida food friends Grandma handmade happiness health holiday James Katy life love mess motherhood music Nini Owen parenthood parenting Paw Paw play Pop Pop preschool siblings sleep Sophie spring summer thanksgiving time toddler tucker vacation welcome winter worry
  • Email Subscription

Pleiades Bee is proudly powered by WordPress
Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS).