Binkies, passies, and nighttime prayers

October 28, 12:56 PMFaith & Culture ExaminerDr. Bob Beltz

Previous Next

4 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Faith & Culture Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Jaxon with big sister, Olivia
photo by author

I have a new grandson.  His name is Jaxon Ethan Dixon and that is the little guy in the picture, being held by his big sister Olivia.  I now have three grandchildren: Jaxon, Olivia, and our almost-teenage granddaughter, Emma.  My daughter Stephanie delivered Jaxon by C-section on October 16, and my wife Ali and I had the assigned task of taking care of Olivia while Mom and Dad were at the hospital.  Emma was there with us to help.

Since Stephanie went into labor at 1 am, we packed up and headed to their house so that Olivia could wake up in her normal environment.  When she woke up the next morning, Grandpa and Grandma were there.  For the next few days we had a blast with Olivia and Emma.  For me, one of the highlights of the time was putting Olivia to bed. 

When Stephanie was a baby, and then when she was a little girl, we had a nighttime routine that we executed nightly as we attempted to get Stephanie to go to sleep.  It usually included rocking her in the rocking chair we kept in her bedroom and singing to her.  As she drifted off we would always pray for her and bless her.  When our son Baker came along six years later we followed the same bedtime routine with him. 

It is a revelatory experience to see how your own children handle situations in their lives that you remember going through with them when they were young.  Stephanie had left us detailed instructions on how we were to put Olivia to bed at night.  It seems that Olivia has her own routine that is a combination of what Stephanie does and what Olivia has added to the process all on her own. 

First, Olivia must have her “passie.”  I’m not sure this is the correct spelling, but it is what she calls her pacifier.  This is the exact word Stephanie used when she was a little girl.  She also has to have her “binkie.”  Actually, she requires holding two “binkies” as she drifts off.  “Binkie” is what she calls her blanket.  Then, with passie and binkie secured, the rest of the routine gets very interesting.  

Olivia is becoming a “big girl.”  Actually, at two and a half, she will inform you that she IS a big girl.  Her criteria?  She now sleeps in a big girl bed!  Her big girl bed is basically her old crib without the railings.  But before she goes to her big girl bed, she spends some time with Mom lying next to her on the twin bed in her room, where Mom sings to her and prays for her.  So our job while Mom was in the hospital was to attempt to replicate the experience Olivia requires nightly to retire. 

On our first full night with Olivia, she requested Grandpa put her to bed.  I had been carefully coached by both Stephanie and my wife concerning the routine I was to follow.  But even if that had not been the case, Olivia would have helped me get it right.  She showed me where I was to lie on the twin bed and specifically patted her hand on the pillow where I was to lay my head.  Then she arranged herself with her head in the nook of my arm in just the right place.  Once we were in position, she reached out and pulled my head so that it was right next to hers.  Then came songs and prayers.  Every time I got “out of position”, Olivia would reach out and pull my face back to where it belonged.  This went on for about ten minutes, and I have to say I loved every minute of it.   When she was finally ready, she announced to me that I could now carry her over to her big girl bed where she would theoretically finally go to sleep.  My last words to her were, “I love you, Olivia.”  To which she responded through her well-pacified little mouth, “I love you, too.”  It was a moment I will never forget. 

I’m very proud of my daughter and son-in-law.  They are great parents.  Allison and I often remark that Stephanie is a much better parent than we were.  She is a natural.  She also works hard at it.  The fact that she sings songs of worship to Olivia and prays for her nightly brings great joy to us.  Since, like many children, Stephanie had a period in her young adult life where spiritual things were not very high on her agenda, her adult faith and the energy she puts into teaching Olivia about God is all the more amazing and wonderful. 

Now we have Jaxon to enjoy, too.  At the moment that primarily involves watching him sleep and hoping we happen to be around when he opens his eyes and checks out the world he has so recently arrived in.  I know Steph and Jed are going to do a great job raising him, and I think Emma and Olivia will be terrific older sisters.  I imagine he will have his own nighttime routine.  It probably will include a “passie.”  And it might include a “binkie” or two.  But for sure it will involve Mom and Dad, and periodically Grandpa and Grandma praying for him and blessing him.

(Note:  If you don’t know exactly how to pray for your children, you can always pray the blessing from the Old Testament over them:  The Lord Bless you and keep you.  The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.  The Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you, and give you peace.  )