Second Trip to Guatemala - Part 4

That night, I wanted to avoid the tearful good night we experienced on the last night of our last trip. The stroller seemed to work magic at naptime, why not use it at bedtime? I know… bad habits. But with so little time to spend with them, I just want every minute to be positive. We tucked them into the stroller in their jammies with their blankets and within maybe fifteen minutes of strolling, they were sound asleep. Bliss! So began our nightly routine of strolling the children to sleep. Our favorite approach was to take them back out to the swimming pool, which was generally deserted in the evenings, but provided a perfectly serene environment to lull them to sleep. With the pool lights turning the swimming pool to a soothing blue, the reflection of the lights off the surface of the water and the sound of the rippling waves as maybe one guest of the hotel moved in the pool, it was the perfect setting. I would stroll them back and forth, back and forth and sing through my repertoire of lullabies – “It’s a Small World After All,” “Kumbaya My Lord,” “Jesus Loves Me,” “This Little Light of Mine,” “Que Sera, Sera,” “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

It became a source of great humor for Jim and I each evening to predict who would fall asleep first, watch with anticipation, celebrate as one started rubbing their eyes and hands started to fall limply to their sides, still clutching their cereal box, toy or bottle, or whatever else they had talked us into to bringing with them. Nelson in particular fought sleep the hardest – little wiggle worm. Each time we thought he was getting close, he’d launch his body over the edge of the stroller – safely secured by his seatbelt – he would be half in, half out. Or, he would double over face forward. Then, he would sit back… and with our hopes rising… suddenly launch forward or sideways or reach out a hand to touch Carolina’s face. We were trying so hard not to laugh and disrupt the soothing atmosphere, but it was impossible. I tried to steady my voice and resume singing. With each zig and zag, we would catch a glimpse and reset our predictions until finally, we were assured that they were both asleep and ready to go back to the room and be tucked-in.

On our first night, Nelson woke up whimpering. I didn’t want him to wake up Carolina, so I crept into bed with him to help him go back to sleep. He truly is a squirmy little guy. He would curl up next to me one moment, hand randomly exploring his ear or my face – and yes, to my chagrin, my moles seemed to be a source of fascination. I could hear his little brain clicking.. “What’s this? A button!! What happens when I push it? Do it again!” Ugh… Need to see a doctor about getting those removed. But anyway, he just couldn’t help himself from flopping between different positions – lying down, curling up, laying across my stomach, laying on my chest, laying on the bed, curling up…. Finally, sleep overcame him and I gratefully returned to my bed.