Wednesday
night we agreed to allow Robby and his cousins to stay up all night.
The crew had been clamoring to have an "all nighter" for about a year,
and lacking any real reasons to deny the request we decided to let them
try. After all, it was the beginning of summer vacation so worrying
about a sleep schedule is irrelevant. With promises that they would
behave, stay in the house and remain quasi-quiet, I went to bed and let
them to "rule the night."
I
had my doubts that they would make it past midnight, but their
determination overshadowed fatigue. My Mom woke up at 1:30 to let
the dogs out and found the cousins in the kitchen playing Black Jack.
At 2:30 they were still playing cards, drinking milk and eating macaroni
and cheese. When Timmy woke up at 5:30 they were all sleeping in the
living room. We shooed them back to bed but each professes that they saw
the sun come up before they laid down.
After
they woke up (around noon) I decided to resurrect a favorite tradition
by planning an Aunt Peggy Adventure. Per protocol, they had no idea
where we were going or what we were doing. They only knew that we were
going somewhere and that it would be fun. Because they were operating on
limited sleep I decided to host an abbreviated adventure. We went to an
Escape Room specially designed for kids.
The
cousins were ushered into the mysterious room while I stayed in the
lounge to watch the adventure unfold on a CCTV. I was nervous, hoping
that they would be successful, continue to behave and not fight. They
usually all get along, but stress and fatigue can bring out bickering
(especially among family.)
They
exceeded all of my expectations by working beautifully together to
solve the complex puzzles. I was extremely proud of them all. They had a
blast in the Escape Room and managed to unlock the door in the nick of
time. They were all beaming with pride as they emerged, knowing that
they had successfully unraveled the mystery.
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