Auntie Chronicles: Bed Time

I know for a fact that my brother is not-so-slowly training me into becoming the perfect babysitter.

“Go help your sister,” says my sister-in-law.

“She has to learn,” responds my brother. This was how I ended up giving my niece a bath and now I do it regularly. Tonight I partook in her bedtime ritual which involves reading. I didn’t read to her. Instead, she had one of her favourite books – The Snowy Day* – and a basic counting and spelling book and we looked at the pictures, counted the ladybugs and talked about what she did when it snowed last year.

Then we lay down on the bed while she played with my bracelet and then played grabby hands. All the while we talked about stuff. She didn’t want to go to sleep just like most pre-schoolers and I was ok with that. We hung out.

* I bought her the book from my trip to Chicago. I’m encouraging her to be a voracious reader. And yes, the fact that it’s one of her favourite books does make me a bit smug. How could I not buy it? The protagonist is about her age, it’s about snow and it features a character of colour.