Joseph at Bedtime

My mom does it all and always has!  I don't know how she does it, but I'm enjoying her labors while I'm home. She does all the planning, shopping, cooking ,cleaning up of meals while I'm here. She says I'm doing enough mothering the children, and wouldn't it be nice if every mother could have a cook and maid so we could focus on the children. Indeed. Although mom certainly never had that with her eight children.
With the extra time in my evening, I have been savoring the bedtime routine instead of marching everyone through it.  Tonight Joseph and I read a couple books as we snuggled up in Grandma and Grandpa's library room.  Joseph put his head on my shoulder and said, "You're so fun to read with."  One of the books I read was one of my childhood favorites, Gertie and Gus by Lisl Weil. I also stayed with him in bed as he drifted off, but more importantly listened to his questions:

• "Mom, why is Greenland named Greenland if it is mostly ice? I would think Greenland should have a lot of grass."  He explained he had been looking through a book What I Eat that Marc had checked out from the library. There was an entry from Greenland; it did not look green to him.
• "Mom, do you think I should apologize to Ms. Schiffano when I get back to school?"   On the last day of school before we left on our trip, Joseph's teacher's aide was telling me that the teacher had sent some books in Joseph's back pack for him to read while we were gone. In the course of the short interchange, Joseph disagreed with the teacher--there were four books, not two.  I was concerned that he was being disrespectful and corrected him.   I guess he's been thinking about it and thinks maybe he should apologize to Ms. S.  
• "Mom, one last thing I want to tell you.  One day we were playing on the blacktop and there is a glass door to the 1st grade class. They were watching a Brain Pop and we watched it through the door." 

I've really missed Joseph since he started school.  Since he and Abigail share a room, I don't lay by him while he goes to sleep anymore. We read and sing in our bedroom and then send him tiptoeing into his bed. So, I miss those "chats" he and I used to have at bedtime.  One of my favorite parts of this trip has been bedtime with Joseph.  Thanks, Mom, for giving me this time with my boy.