Better Than TV

It’s evening, and dinner is done. The dishes are in the dishwasher and the kitchen is closed. The kids have been bathed and pajama-ed, and we’re ready to wind down for the night. Only one problem: there’s still ONE HOUR until bedtime. We’re on the home stretch, but there’s still plenty of time for the train to get off track and a meltdown to ensue. So what do we do?

We resort to the fort! I built it this morning after we woke and found SNOW (three-stupid-inches!) on the ground outside. I was still feeling sluggish after last week’s illness, so I knew it was going to be a long day unless I came up with a good plan. So I pulled our beloved LoveSac away from the wall, then tied a rope from the curtain rod to the computer desk and draped a dirty sheet (it’s laundry day) across it and onto the LoveSac. It made a handy lean-to, which the kids clamored into and started stacking pillows inside. We read books for an hour, until I was on the verge of sleep and had to rouse myself to make lunch.

Tonight, the kids were excited to invite Daddy into the fort for cuddling. Katie wrote a permission slip for him to sign before he could enter it, then they crawled in while I snuck around taking photos of them reading books.

I joined the family inside the fort and we read another book about McDuff the dog and a baby. The baby’s first word was “woof,” which led us into a discussion of the kids’ first words. I told them stories about their first words and they guffawed and squealed with delight when I told them how they mispronounced those words.

We had a staring contest, which Dan and I deemed “unfair” because we’re old and wear contacts and our eyes dry out too fast to win a staring contest with Katie.

Dan taught Jackson how to have a Thumb War.

 

Then, blessedly, the hour was over and bedtime had arrived. We all had smiles on our faces, and I remarked to Dan that I’d rather spend that time in the fort than plugged in to the TV. Memories are so much better than the boob tube.