Last night was the first time Doc and I went to bed before both of our kids were tucked in. Gator was asleep, but Bunch was at the neighbor's house for a party. It was a sleep over, but since moving here and getting to the age of sleep overs, we've decided that we're going to be a "late over" family.
I'd never heard of late overs till we moved here, but essentially it's staying as late as you want, but when it's time to finally actually sleep, you come home. And depending on the situation, sometimes you go back as soon as you wake up in the morning, but any sleeping is in your own bed.
I admit that at first I though this was ridiculous. But then, upon reflecting back to my own sleep over experiences as a child, I decided that actually, there's a lot of merit to the idea. I never had anything positive happen to me during my unconscious hours at someone else's house growing up, and actually had a few negative experiences (and I'm not just talking about the girls freezing my bra while I was sleeping). So except under extenuating circumstances, late overs it is.
Thus Bunch was at the party. It seemed so weird to go to bed with her not safely tucked in. But she was 2 houses away, and we left a note asking her to wake us up and say goodnight when she came in. I want our kids to always wake us up when they come in after being out late.
At 2:45a.m. (!), she gently woke me up to say she was home. She said she stayed much later than she thought she would, but she'd caught a second wind. "I'm going to sleep in now since I was out so late" she said, before heading to her room.
At 7:26 a.m., which is apparently her idea of sleeping in, she left a comment on yesterday's blog post. I'm not sure what time she actually got up, because she was gone after that (Doc and I actually did sleep in)
I look forward to hearing about the party when she comes home this morning. It's a new world for me...having my child out late. If she were going on a date, then of course we'd have curfews and all that. And she'd be 32 years old, of course.
I'm grateful to have a daughter that is so responsible and mature, and who I know is setting a good example for others. I hope her life is filled with fun experiences and joyful moments. ♥
5 comments:
I think lateovers sound like a great idea. But it only works, I would think, with neighborhood friends. At least, I wouldn't feel up to driving at 2 a.m! Bunch sounds like a great girl.
Good point, and in fact, when it has been at someone's house that was farther away, we set a time to pick her up...which is what most of the other parents did too. Alternatively, the hosts have said they'd drive the kids home at a set hour...which is very considerate of them. It's worked out fine, and hopefully the kids understand the rationale and are fine with it. But even if they're not, I know some things they don't (and hopefully won't) about this kind of thing.
Setting a pre-determined time would probably solve the problem...I could just see myself sitting around waiting for Noodle to get tired enough (when she's a bit older, of course)... But I think the concept is great. I had pretty good sleepover experiences, but one time I went to a sleepover b-day party of a girl I didn't know well, and I couldn't sleep because the house was so think with the smell of cigarette smoke and I'm really sensitive to it. I just tried to scoot down in my sleeping bag to avoid the smell and smoke. I wished I could've gone home, or known that I could have called my parents. Nothing super traumatic, but I felt so stuck.
So lateovers sound like a great middle ground, and almost more fun for the kids because they get to come home so late!
I bet my bed WAS cozier than anyone else's...though it still might have been fun to actually sleep there.
we have done late-overs for the past 4 years. I just didn't feel comfortable sending my child to somebody's house where I don't really know the parents or the older siblings very well. I usually know the children well though. We always just set a time. But that way, the next morning no on is a crabby as they would have been if they'd stayed.
Aspen stayed up all night a couple of times before we started the late over. I was kind of upset that the little kids (she was only 7) were roaming around the house while the parents were sleeping. So late overs have been the solution most of the time.
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