The last couple of months have been more than just manic on the work front as I have had to work late almost every night, and not getting home till after 9 pm.  My self-imposed work life balance is up in shit’s creek.

With my horrible up-keeping of time, I have been missing the kids’ bedtime routine rather frequently.  Naturally, when I get home, Spud and Squirt are both fast asleep and are dead to the world.

As with my usual routine, I would check up on them when I get home for a quick visual peek and again after my shower. I’ll then give them a kiss and sometimes, slip in right next to them and lie down with them for a few minutes while they sleep.

That one night, while I was doing my regular visual check, I caught Squirt smiling away in his sleep as I kissed him.  He looked like he was in a deep slumber, but when I saw him smile, I can’t help myself and tried to engage him while he was still sleeping just to see his reaction.

As I climbed to his bed, I stroked his face and asked if I could sleep next to him that night. With eyes still closed, he shook his head.

Tickled, I asked again if I could give him a kiss. He shook his head, eyes still closed.

Encouraged and curious to see how far this would go, I then asked if I could tickle him. (he loves being tickled and would ask for it every night without fail!). With eyes still closed, he nodded.

I smiled, amused at what I saw and asked him again if I could lie next to him, to which he shook his head.

I then went:

“Hug?”

He shook his head.

Me:  “Another kiss?”

He shook his head.

 Me: “Ice-cream?”

He nodded. With a smile. Eyes still closed.

My heart chuckled and I finally kissed him goodnight for the 100^th time.