Summary

A father recounts a rare and cherished moment of cuddling with his seven-year-old son who unexpectedly joins him and his wife in bed after waking up early.

Abstract

In a heartfelt reflection, the author describes an early morning where his son, after waking up unexpectedly, seeks comfort by cuddling between his parents. Despite the father's previous relief at no longer needing to co-sleep with his son, he cherishes this unexpected moment of closeness, choosing to stay in bed longer than planned. The mother, who had been up late playing a video game she was more excited about than their son, takes over the cuddling duty, allowing the father to start his day. The author contrasts this moment with his daughter's ongoing need for physical closeness, noting the fleeting nature of such intimate moments with his son as he grows older.

Opinions

The author initially feels inconvenienced by the prospect of co-sleeping with his son but comes to appreciate the unexpected cuddle session.
He values quality sleep and had previously been glad to stop co-sleeping when his son began to sleep independently.
The mother's excitement about the new video game is portrayed with humor, as she ends up staying up late and doing chores, indicating a playful family dynamic.
The author expresses a sense of nostalgia and recognition of the fleeting nature of childhood, understanding that such intimate moments with his son will soon pass.
There is a subtle

Surprise Cuddles

Nostalgia is good in moderation

At 6:30 am, our bedroom door opened.

I know this because I was awake. I’d been conscious for a few minutes already, cuddling with my wife.

I’d asked her just a few minutes prior if she’d just gotten to bed.

“I don’t want to answer that,” she responded.

“It’s just a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer,” I commented.

“4 am,” she said.

About a week ago, my wife bribed my son with a video game. It turns out she’s more excited about the video game than he is.

So much so, that she was up until 4 am playing. Or…up until a little before then. Because I’m pretty sure she did the dishes before coming upstairs to bed.

So it’s 6:30 am and the bedroom door opens, and in runs my seven-year-old, soon to be eight-year-old son.

He runs in and trips over the air cleaner. I expect a bout of intense shouting, but there’s just a two-second scream (“Hey! That shouldn’t be there!”), and then he’s asking what time it is.

“Early,” I tell him. His normal wake-up these days is around 10 am. I reach out my arms to hug him.

And he actually gets into bed…curls up between my wife & I and goes back to sleep.

I marveled at the feeling of holding him like that. When he was a baby, he wouldn’t sleep on his own. Until he was four or five, someone had to lay down with him to help him fall asleep.

So I was relieved when he finally started sleeping on his own. When I didn’t need to do that anymore. And in the proceeding years, when he’d asked me to sleep next to him, I refused.

I’d had enough of getting kicked, feeling overheated and being pushed to the edge of the bed. I like my quality sleep, thank-you-very-much.

But when he came into our bed this morning, even though I’d planned to get up and get on with my day, I hung around for just a little while longer, reveling in the feeling.

Finally, I asked my wife to put her arm around him so that I could get up without waking him up.

She did, and they slept like that for several more hours.

I have no idea what woke him up. Did he have a nightmare? Just randomly wake up and wonder if it was late?

I’m not sure, but I’m glad I got to experience holding him one more time. At his age, I doubt it will happen much more.

As for my daughter…at about-to-turn-four…she still spins around and kicks in her sleep. I’ll keep the cuddling with her to the couch for now…