In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee

Bear with me this morning for a slightly nostalgic and sentimental post. Yesterday evening the moment was lost in the midst of fanfare and then some inevitable resistance. The moment being the disassembly and retirement of the crib. Although the crib had long since been converted to toddler bed, the event strikes me this morning as significant.

For practical purposes, I had been hoping to hold out until after we had moved. Thomas though dictated that the situation had to be remedied sooner rather than later. Although the crib had been converted into a bed, he was done. He complained that the mattress was too soft, that he didn't have enough room. And he expressed his displeasure by joining us in our bedroom almost every night for the past week at about 2:00 am. The child is not a pleasure to sleep with in the midst of his kicking, and pushing and stretching (never mind the snoring). So after a week of sheer exhaustion we broke down and decided to resolve the source of contention.

There ensued much celebration and discussion about the big boy bed. Although in typical Thomas fashion there was significant resistance to the actual sleeping in the new bed. He kept racing to our bedroom and hopping into our bed until he conceded defeat at about 11:00 pm. In one last show of defiance, this morning when we awoke he jumped out of his new sleeping quarters and gave the mattress a slap and proclaimed it "bad". Must have been significantly more comfortable, as we had no guests last night, and the best night of sleep in ages.

But back to the crib for a moment. The dismantling and removal was a bit of an afterthought last night (probably because we were pushing ten o'clock, well past the boys' bedtime). In the last few weeks, it appeared that Thomas had managed to decimate the mattress, and the springs were on the verge of poking through (no wonder he was uncomfortable). The mattress is headed directly to the trash bin. But the crib itself is still completely serviceable. But broken down into its components firmly reiterated the fact that no babies live here. Little twinge of sadness that they have grown up so quickly. How does five years evaporate in what seems just a moment. The crib was a permanent fixture here, transferred directly from one child to the next. I can still recall our collective effort building it the first time. I must have been eight months pregnant, and to be honest, my effort was fairly minimal, mostly in a supervisory capacity. I was so excited with anticipation, even in the midst of the excessive cursing that always accompanies any furniture assembly in our home.

Through babies and toddlers, sleepless nights, afternoon naps, it served us well. Almost two thousand sleeps in fact. Isn't it funny that when you have young children, days, time itself is measured in "sleeps". Of course it is never the inanimate object but the memories, the crib itself is symbolic. In any case, we're holding onto it for now. Hopefully it will be home to one more baby (not imminently mind you, we're still recovering). With a new mattress of course.

Comments

[Shelby]

love that he slapped the mattress...lol!

[Jerome]

A well written entry Tina. At first I thought it was gas, but then I figured it must be an emotion I was feeling. Very touching indeed.

[melanie]

you're such a fabulous writer. definitely a moment worth noting.

[lisa]

you are a brilliant writer...one closed door leads to an open door...some are sad and we are glad to see them behind us...some will haunt us for awhile...

thank you for sharing!

Lisa