Submitted by Joe Beckman
We had a momentous occasion in the Beckman household a little while back as we hosted my 4 year old daughter’s first ever…sleep over.
As a kid I remember these nights being epic. These were where best friends were made.
Staying up late, playing countless hours of Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, Double Dragon, Contra with the amazing 8-bit graphics that only my old school (then new school) Nintendo could provide. Keeping each other awake for no reason other then you didn’t want to be the first one to go to sleep. Sneaking up to the fridge like church mice to grab one last round of snacks, only to be sold down the river by my the squeaks that rang out like gunshots with every step we took on the hardwood floors. Trying to stifle the laughter of our jokes because if my dad were to wake up he would walk down in his whitey-tighties and tell us that if we didn’t go to bed that he would “drive my buddy home right this minute!” (he never knew my friends names…they were always “buddy”).
I wanted this monumental occasion to be perfect. If this went well it could set the tone for all other sleepovers to come. This one night could change her life and set her on a course of social success for the rest of her life. I dropped the rules, the routines, and the regiments. It was awesome!
The girls played, ate ice cream, swam, ate some more ice cream, watched a movie, and ate some more (this time popcorn). Finally when it was time to go to sleep I acted as if I seriously wanted them to “get to bed right now!” Every time they tried, they burst into laughter, and every time I came in acting as if I was a little ticked off, they would laugh even harder.
Finally they exhausted themselves to sleep, and when they did, I couldn’t help but smile when I walked into the room and took a picture of the two of them snuggling next to each other. So innocent…so beautiful.
I know that her life will get so much more complicated from here. Along the way she will encounter a countless number of social aggravations. The Sleep Over should be void of these aggravations however, and I hope I can do my best to help foster that in the years to come.
(have an awesome sleepover memory? Share it!)
