Musical Beds

At our home we have the phenomenon of Musical Beds. Perhaps you have experienced this. We have four children and four designated sleeping places. The girl has her own room with a single bed in it. The three boys share a room with a bunk bed in it. It has a single on top and a double on the bottom. You see, adequate sleeping arrangements for four children. Yet, almost every night when I check the kids before I go to bed, I find at least one empty bed. This used to alarm me. Where is my child?

My twins have always shared a bed, and since they were babies, they always slept better together. It’s like they have to be touching each other to fall asleep. I remember putting two fussy infants on either end of the cradle and trying to rock them to sleep..no luck…but cram them in side by side and instant relaxation. This worked so well we only used a single crib. When they graduated from the crib to the toddler beds, I would find them tangled asleep in the middle of the floor. We finally put the little beds side by side so they would sleep in one or the other.

Now they are big boys, just turned six, and happily share the lower bunk. Usually, I untangle their arms and legs, make sure heads are on pillows and both are covered up before I crawl into bed for the night, but sometimes there’s an extra long leg sticking out or longish girl hair on a pillow…and usually at least one empty bed somewhere. This used to freak me out a little. Oh, my poor kids, how can they even sleep. I would haul each back to their bed and tuck them in. Only now, they are much heavier. Now, I just count limbs and make sure everybody has a blanket. I vaguely wonder if it’s like that new study about having pets. Pet germs supposedly boost your immunity…

It’s worse when you have one child with a cough or a fever. You tuck them in a single bed so the sickness is isolated but later, you may find yourself trying to move the coughing child to a sitting position in the dark and realize you have the wrong child as there are really two children now in this bed.

I don’t get it. I only had one sister. I only ever had my own room and I loved sleeping alone. I still love the feeling of having the whole bed to myself if my husband is out of town or I am napping on a restful Sunday afternoon. So this tendency to sleep like puppies is beyond me.

As they grow bigger and older, I am certain, the game of Musical Beds every night will be a thing of the past. It doesn’t freak me out anymore. I just find all four heads, pat them tenderly, make sure everyone is covered up, thank the Lord for my children and head to bed. Someday, Musical Beds will simply be another mommy-mind memory to chuckle about later.