The long, hard, joyous night......

I'm getting old and sentimental I guess.  I had a night with Grady recently that should have been a complete nightmare but instead, I ended up feeling almost joyful by morning.  I just thought I'd write it down here so I can always remember it and hopefully I'll remember to write down more stories like it.

Recently, three-year-old Grady had a bout with a stomach bug.  He was whining and fussy during the evening and wasn't quite acting like himself but I wasn't sure what was bothering him.  Not long after I put him to bed he woke up crying.  I went in his room and discovered he was sitting up in his bed and had puked EVERYWHERE.  All over his head, face, body, bed....like a really gross explosion!  He was so upset and said through his tears, "I sorrwweee momma! Mess!"  He thought he was in trouble and it was so sad!   I got him up and put him in the tub and got to work cleaning up his bed.  I got him into clean jammies and tucked him back into bed with his clean bedding.  I talked to him about throwing up and told him if his tummy was sick again to run to the potty and I would hear him and run in to help him.  I knew that was a long shot given his age but decided it was worth a try. :)  He squeezed me and we said goodnight again.

We went through this same process two more times that night.  The tub, washer & dryer were running all night.  This sweet little boy felt awful but he was the most sincerely grateful 3 year old I have ever seen.  He was bound and determined to give me big squeezes and thank me for cleaning up him and his bed each time.      He noticed when I put on his clean and warm Thomas jammies he'd been wearing earlier in the night.  His face lit up and he hugged himself in his favorite pj's.  He said, "Good job Momma! All Kween!"  I made his bed for the third time that night and he climbed in, just grinning at me the whole time.  I got so many squeezes, cuddles, adorable smiles, and "I Love You's" that night....taking care of the little guy was so heartwarming.  I didn't hate this night.....I loved it.   It was the first time in my life I realized that one day I might really miss cleaning up puke all night! :)