Sleepover Ready? Not Quite Yet!

I am heartbroken this morning. The Big One didn’t make it all night at her first sleepover.  I know when she wakes up she will be very sad, again. But alas it wasn’t meant to be, yet.

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You see the Big One’s best buddy at preschool, Abby, has three older sisters. So Abby is a pro at hosting and observing sleepovers. The Big One is the oldest, so the concept is a little foreign to her. She has slept at Grammy and Papa’s before, but other that those few times, she has slept at home in her own bed.

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So several months ago when the Big One and Abby started planning this sleepover, I was hesitant. She is only 4. It seems young to me to have a sleepover. After several months of constant badgering Abby’s mom and the FixItMommy gave in. I assured Abby’s mom that she could call me any time. It was not a big deal. If she needed me to come get the Big One, I completely understood. The plan was the Big One would spend the night and then go to church with Abby’s family. The Little One and I would be at church too.

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When I left the Big One at around dinnertime, it took everything she had to pull herself away from whatever they were playing with to even say goodbye to me. I took that as a positive sign, but was still a bit anxious. I know that the Little One and I lingered at the door chatting longer than necessary because I was anxious to leave her. The Big One meanwhile didn’t seem to care at all that I was gone.

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So we came home, had dinner and did our normal bedtime routine. After I got the Little One is bed, the Husband called (it’s Reserves weekend). His first question was whether or not I had heard from Abby’s mom. It was close to 9 p.m. and I hadn’t so we took that as a positive sign.

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I went to bed around 10 p.m. All was seemingly well. Then I woke up a little after 2 a.m. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t get back to sleep. So I lied there tossing and turning until 3:39 a.m. when my cell phone rang. As soon as I saw the local number come up, I knew the sleepover was over.

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In very calm, quiet voice, Abby’s mom said that she was going to bring the Big One home.  They live just around the corner and like I said the Husband was gone, so I couldn’t volunteer to go get her because I didn’t want to leave the Little One alone.

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I walked downstairs, turned a light on and watched out the peep hole for the car to arrive. Once they pulled into the driveway, I met them outside. Abby’s mom handed the Big One to me as she said, “you want your momma?” to the Big One. I couldn’t see the Big One’s face, just a mop of hair clutching her teddy bear and pillow as she reached out for me.

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It was chilly outside so we walked in and Abby’s mom told me that the Big One was perfectly fine. Then she woke up at about 2 a.m. She got her settled back into bed for a little bit. Then the Big One woke up again and she couldn’t get her settled. As she struggled to calm the Big One down, she asked her if she wanted to go home. At that point, the Big One started sobbing and nodding her head yes, that she did in fact just want to go home.

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It was the saddest thing ever. On the one hand, it’s nice to have that reassurance that the FixItMommy is her first choice. But it’s heartbreaking to know how excited she was about her first sleepover.

We’ll try it again in 10 years or so!