It was a good idea at the time. In fact, I was impressed with my own brilliance. But, apparently, I didn't think it through.
I have a pack and play I bought with my first grandchild to have as a spare bed when they visit. My two year old granddaughter, Shelby, is getting to that age where it is hard to lay her down inside it when she is asleep. But I'm afraid to put her in the spare bedroom with her brother because it is a sleeper sofa and I'm afraid if she fall out of bed, she would hurt herself on the metal frame that holds the mattress. Plus she still wakes up at night and is a little disoriented and I like her being close by for me to comfort her.
So, I had this wonderful brainstorm. I would borrow her mattress from her toddler bed and put it in the floor beside my bed. I fixed it up with her favorite blankies and a nice soft pillow. I tucked my spare pillows around the mattress so if she rolled off, she would just roll onto a pillow. Pretty good idea....or so I thought.
Around 4:00, as usual, I hear a little sobbing and wimpering as she wakes up and is in need of some Mamaw comfort. I don't want to turn a light on and wake her completely up, so I step off the bed and kneel on the spare pillow to lift her up off the mattress. She's not there. So I feel further down in the bed. No Shelby. I start patting the pillow around the bed and tell my husband, I can't find her. "Shelby where are you?" And I hear this precious little voice wimper the words "I stuck under you bed".
I freaked. Papaw jumped up and turned the light on and there she was half way under my bed with her binkie and blankie laying on her belly. I said "Shelby, what are you doing." And she looks around at me and says "I try to get out."
How not to chuckle at the situation. I tell her to back up and she does so I get her feet and gently slide her out the rest of the way. She grabs me and hugs me and says "Mamaw B, I stuck."
What is the first thing that goes through a grandmother's mind at a time like this. Well, for me it was, "Oh my gosh, how am I going to tell her mom she got stuck under my bed in the middle of the night."
So the next morning, I text her Mom and Dad about it. They are on the way to Alabama. They didn't respond immediately. My text message beeps and with trepidation in my heart, I prepare myself for the lecture I know is coming. When they finally respond, my daughter has written:
"Oh my gosh!! We are both laughing so hard we have tears in our eyes." So much for my worry that she will be worried.
Are we a warped family or what??
I think the next time I have a good idea, I won't be so fast to act on it.
