He slept through the night, I swear

Last weekend, my wife went to a women’s retreat with our church.

It was an overnight event, which meant I was home alone with the kids on Friday night.

So, as soon as I got done working, I went to the store.

I did my best “Dad is great, gives us the chocolate cake” routine. If that didn’t make sense to you … please see a classic episode on The Cosby Show as Bill sings his own praises. (Yes, his wife did walk in during the song — and it went downhill from there.)

Anyhow, I cooked spaghetti (because even I can’t screw up pasta) and there was a box of Oreo Cookies and root beer floats to follow.

So, everything was going great.

A few hours later, our 1 year-old, Nathan, had reached his limit.

He was cranky and it was bed time.

I rocked him off-and-on for about 45 minutes (It wouldn’t have taken Julie that long) before he finally gave in.

The next part of the story is where the controversy begins.

Nathan went to bed around 10 p.m. and slept until 6:45 Saturday morning.

After that, I had him lay down with me, where he slept until about 8:45.

You should know that Nathan, at 14 months old, hasn’t slept through the night consistently. He didn’t do so on that Thursday night and he didn’t do so on Saturday night. But, on Friday, he did!

So, when I announced to my wife that he did, in fact, sleep through the night while she was away, she couldn’t (or wouldn’t) believe me.

“Did he sleep through the night, or did you?” she asked.

I promise you this. I was within feet of him that night, not miles. And, he didn’t wake up.

Nathan loves his mama and I’m no magician, but for one night, the stars aligned for dad.

• An editor by day, Scott Mayes is also dad to Matthew, Micah and Nathan. He’s a high school parent, a youth football dad and changes diapers. He’s experienced many things as a parent, but is absolutely clueless about raising daughters.

 

 

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