Leave Room For The Holy Spirit

My four-year old son Kyle had his first sleepover on Friday night . . . and it was with a chick! My wife's friend Jill asked if her daughter Ashleigh could stay the night while Jill was visiting friends in the city. Ashleigh is also four, and Kyle loves when she visits. The missus decided that the two would sleep in Kyle's room (the boy in the bed, and the young lady in the keen Spider-man sleeping bag). Normally, I would be crass enough to give the lad a high five, but (for some inexplicable reason) I thought it uncomfortable. Could I be maturing? Nah.

Of course, nothing untoward would happen, but it was still a little bizarre. I mean, I felt like someone's dad - and that's not a good role for me.

Mercifully, I had to work that night, since it looked as if the two would never go to sleep. They talked and laughed for an hour. Then Ashleigh wanted her mommy. Swell. Since that wasn't gonna happen, they asked for my flashlight. Yeah, like I would give them something to keep them up even longer. Why not just give them my pistol? Finally, Leanne entered their room and told Kyle that it was time to go to sleep. About five minutes later, they were snoring. Kyle lasted the night, but Ashleigh woke up a number of times for a combination of "shadows" and "crickets" in the room. Admitting defeat, Leanne moved her into our room, where she managed to catch some Z's.

This parenting stuff is hard. How long until the kids leave for college?