A Little Magic

When Kevin was very small and occasionally had trouble going to sleep, I used Magic Sleep Dust on him. It was so long ago that it's hard to remember how I even came up with it. I would have him lie down in his bed and close his eyes, and then I would pull some Magic Sleep Dust (invisible, of course) from my pocket and sprinkle it over his closed eyes, ever-so-gently tickling his eyelashes so he could feel it. "Now, you have to keep your eyes closed or it won't work," I'd tell him. "You can't open your eyes until morning, no matter what, okay?" He would nod his little head in the affirmative with his eyes screwed tightly closed and a grin on his face. And it never failed to work. Of course he would keep his eyes closed so the "magic" could work, and he'd fall asleep.

Somewhere along the line, I lost this. Over the large gap of time between when Kevin was very small and susceptible to magic and the time when the next child came along, and amid the ever increasing chaos of bedtime with the the steady increase in the number of kids who need to be put to bed, this little magic trick was forgotten about.

The other day, out of the clear blue, apparently feeling nostalgic, Kevin said to me, "Mom, remember the Magic Sleep Dust?" And a little shockwave went through me as suddenly it all came back to me. Of course! Magic Sleep Dust! How could I have forgotten that? How is it that I've never used that on any of the other kids aside from Kevin? It made me feel sad, actually, and even a little mournful, to realize that such a long time has passed since Kevin was still in footie pajamas and open to magic, and that I allowed something so simple and yet so special slip through the cracks.

Last night, we dealt with the usual bedtime craziness. A little while after all the littles were tucked into bed, Lilah crept out of her room. "Mama?" she said. "I can't go to sleep."

So I took her by the hand and walked her back into her room, settled her into bed, and said, "Okay, I have just the thing. Close your eyes, and I'm going to sprinkle them with Magic Sleep Dust. But it only works if you keep your eyes closed all night long, okay?" She had the biggest grin on her face! "Are you ready?" I asked. She nodded "Okay, close your eyes . . ." and I pulled some invisible Magic Sleep Dust from my pocket, sprinkled it over her eyes, ever-so-gently tickling her eyelashes, and then I kissed her forehead and got up to leave the room. I looked over and both of her sisters were sitting up in bed, watching raptly, speechless.

I didn't hear another peep from Lilah for the rest of the night. Of course it worked. A little mommy magic always works.

It felt like a gift. Like this mommy still has a few tricks up her sleeve.