I cannot remember the day that I had my first sleepover at a friend’s house. I probably was a little older but Mia’s classmate, Payton, invited her and a girlfriend over for the night. I just took the girls to the Discovery Center in Rockford for an outing and her friend’s mom suggested that they do a sleepover. I thought to myself, “This might not be such a great idea”. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised.
My concern was that Allie, her other classmate, got a little upset at their last attempt of a sleepover at about 11pm in the evening. She called her mom and dad and they ended up picking her up. While some might think it would be worthwhile to tell the child to stick it out/suck it up, I think it might be better to make sure they feel comfortable in that environment instead of causing them undue stress. I do not want the girls to think that I would not be there for them in the event they did not feel comfortable on the sleepover. I did not want Mia to have a bad first experience which might effect her desire to do it again.
The other girls were jealous and immediately insisted on being allowed to have a sleepover as well. Knowing that Cathy had her hands full, I promised the other two that we would have a sleepover at our house and invite their friends over. The mob of two thought carefully about my suggestion. They looked at each other, nodded and let me know that was acceptable. Crisis averted for now with future post to come.
The sleepover started at 1630 and Mia was excited the whole morning. She had packed up her “security” items in a bag the night before. She chose to bring a sleeping bag, a pillow, three of her most treasured “stuffies” and her Lalaloopsy [sic]. The bag sat by the man door waiting for our depature and a reminder to all that Mia was going on her first sleepover.
I dropped her off at 1630 and Cathy was very welcoming. Mia immediately detached herself from me and went to her friends. I could tell that this was going to be good for her. I smiled at Cathy and wished her luck and to let me know if there was any problems. She seemed comfortable with the five girls. I received several text pictures and updates on Mia which to me made it special. I felt like a proud Fire Dad because my little girl was all grown up now!
The next day, I woke up and found that my phone did not have any text messages on it. Two possible scenarios: Either Cathy and Dan were perfectly fine and the kids had a great time or they were now being held hostage and I would have to pay a king’s ransom for their safe return. I was hoping for the former! I texted Cathy before departing for the gym but her phone was off so I did not get a response for a spell. I suggested 1030 for a pickup and she said that would be fine. I finished up my workout and picked up Mia.
Thankfully, Cathy and Dan looked in good health with no rope marks on their wrists:). Mia looked a little tired and they were doing some sort of dance game on the television. The beds were out in the living room by the TV. Cathy said that Mia was up til almost midnight – the latest. I guess I could be proud of such a trooper but I knew this would mean her attitude would be not so good for the rest of the day (and it wasn’t). She already had breakfast which Cathy and Dan prepared. It rivaled many restaurants in that they had bacon, eggs, muffins, milk, orange juice – just to name a few). I was JEALOUS! The girls did art and she brought her projects home. They took numerous pictures with a modern day Polaroid. I thanked both of them for being so kind.
Cathy let me know that Mia could come back again for another sleepover. That made me proud of her that she had behaved good while at the sleepover and encourages me to allow her to do it again in the future. For now, I am working on setting up Milana and Bella’s first sleepover. Please make sure you check up on me to see if I make it out alive!