...Outside the Box: And In It

We recently bought a coffee table from some neighbors who moved away. The table doubles as a big box, where we've elected to store blankets. It's rustic style is good in our family room, though I do plan to do some repair and refinish work to it this summer. The kids have loved climbing on it and using it for a homework and coloring work surface...and a bed.


Our nighttime routine usually includes tucking the children in bed and then returning around nine o'clock to turn off their lights so they won't read into the wee hours. A few nights ago, I went down for the final good-night check and noticed #5 was not in his room. I figured he was cuddled in with #2, which is pretty common. But when I check the girls' room, not only was #5 not there, but #3 was also missing. One child in each bedroom was already asleep, so I quietly began calling for them. No response. I looked in closets. Then the front room, laundry room, and bathtub. Still no response. I checked upstairs in the playroom and glanced around my room. Now I was getting nervous and calling more loudly. No one in the garage, and the front door was still locked on the inside. Where could they be?! Then I had a thought: the BOX! I opened the lid and found both of them snuggled and snickering. They had heard me, but didn't want to answer me because they were afraid I'd send them back to their beds. Well, they looked comfy, and another thought came to my mind.

I remembered a night I spent sleeping on the bottom stairs to our basement when I was eight or nine. I wanted to exercise some independence, which escalated into refusing to go to bed. I proved my point by sleeping in a cramped position on a cold cement surface all night...and felt triumphant. So I left my rascals in the wooden box and turned out the lights, to their delight.

Too bad they hadn't considered my morning routine. When I came down at 6:30 a.m. and turned on the lights for my scripture study, they were not happy to be so rudely awakened. I'm glad they had some fun being sneaky. I'm glad I caught them. And I'm glad they won't repeat that little escapade again.

I'm also wondering why I provide beds for my children when they seem to prefer bean bags, ottomans, floors, and boxes?