Good Night, Sweet Dreams, I Love You, I Will See You In The Morning…

Good night, Sweet dreams, I love you, I will see you in the morning. No words could have fonder memories to me. I have heard them said a thousand times, and without fail, they have never disappointed.

In our home, eight o’clock was bedtime for us girls. It used to make us so mad. We would moan and groan because we wanted to stay up! But my folks knew 6 AM would come early for school. For the most part, bedtime was strictly observed in our home. It was without negotiation and regard to the season. This was not only so we would get a good night’s rest but also so that our parents could have some quiet, uninterrupted time together. This can be so easily overlooked, and yet it is so important. Time with our spouse is so valuable. Whether it is simply to review the day or just to enjoy each other’s company. It must be shielded from the element’s life will wield. Structure and schedule are the building blocks upon which success will hang in any area of our lives, marriage included.

My mother was a Southern Belle who kept to her southern roots even as far as South Dakota. Her make-up, hair and nails seemed to always be perfect, and yet she could weed a garden, clean house, and work beside my dad as if perfume and sweat were a match made in heaven. When we were little, our mother did not work outside the home, so she found side jobs to earn extra money, like selling Mary Kay. As we grew older, Mom worked in the school system as a teacher’s aide at Washington school in our small town of Pierre. This allowed her to still be on our schedule. As a child, I never realized her strategy, but today I am so very thankful for the sacrifices she made. I rarely came home from school to an empty house. Her presence made all the difference. There must have been many dreams she laid aside to make sure we knew the value she placed upon her home and family. She planted seeds in my sister and I that have bloomed in our own families as we continue in the same manner.

I can still remember opening all the lipstick samples that would come in the Mary Kay boxes. We loved to watch the house fill up with ladies ready to try on the new products and leave with beautiful faces. Without much warning, the parties began to pull Mom away. Instead of everyone coming to her, she was now going to them. This meant Mom was absent during the evening hours, which, of course, entailed supper and bedtime routines. It did not take her long to see this was not going to work for her. Even though they needed the extra money, nothing was more important to my mother than making sure she was home where she was needed the most. In exchange for Mary Kay, she began to clean apartments for Mr. Harvey. She would clean the hallways and laundry rooms of six apartment buildings. This was the perfect set up for her. It allowed for her to make her own working schedule and for us to tag along.

Before Eva was born, I worked a few evening classes a week without giving much thought to it, but when Eva arrived, those evening classes were coming around too quickly and were wearing not only on our evening routine but on our marriage as well. I remember one day I finally had enough. I could see the strain it was putting on everyone. I told Chuck this had to change, and he agreed. We began to pray for the Lord to open up a door. It wasn’t too long after that conversation that the opportunity presented itself for me to step down from those classes.

I knew there was something more important I had to do. There was somewhere more important I had to be. My family was counting on me. I had a husband who needed my time and a little girl who was waiting for me to tuck her in and read her a story. There were bedtime prayers to pray and precious words I did not want to miss.

As I turn out her light each night, I can see her nightlight glowing on the shelf. It is the same one that glowed on my dresser as a little girl. I can’t help but drift back to all those nights as a little girl myself, remembering stories my mother would read to us girls, as well as being tucked in and kissed by my parents, knowing they would be right downstairs if we needed them. I can still remember some nights right before Brittney and I would drift off to sleep. We would hear Dad and Mom yell up the stairs, “PAJAMA RIDE!” We would leap out of bed, and they would load us up for a late-night ice-cream trip in our pajamas! We thought it was the best thing in the world as little girls. No amount of Mary Kay was worth missing this.

Standing there, watching Eva tucked in with Mr. Elephant, I could see it all playing out again. As I gently bend down to kiss her forehead the words come rushing back to me, and I softly whisper one more time, “Good night, Sweet dreams, I love you; I will see you in the morning.”

“I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, Oh Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Psalms 4:8

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