Good Night, Debra

Do any of you remember The Walton's television show? If I am remembering this right...and I was very young, so I might have this a little wrong, but at the end of the show the whole, huge family would settle in bed and one by one the good nights were said. "Good night Maryellen, Good night Johnboy" and on down the line of names of the family members.

I remember copying that in my own family. I'd wait until everyone laid down in bed and I would shout (two story houses, you have to yell) "Good night Mom, Good night Dad, Good night Doug, Good night Dan" and then, I'd wait for each of them to yell their good nights. I'd lay in bed with a gigantic grin on my face. It was a great way to fall asleep feeling the love our family shared, even though it was the most cheesy goodnight ritual.

This comes to mind a lot, because my children have their own ritual. None of them have ever seen The Walton's, they do not know the "Good night johnboy" joke, yet their nightly ritual is very similar.

One by one, all four kids yell back and forth, each one having their moment. Each one saying "Good night, Miranda, love ya." Same saying, just a different name inserted each time. It takes 12 yells for four kids to tell each other good night. As a parent, I can't even explain how I feel laying in bed listening to them. They might fight like animals during the day, they might have had so much drama in their life they are in a bad mood....but that nightly ritual is never broken. If one of them falls asleep before the others, they wake them up so the good nights can be said.

The other morning I told them about The Walton's. They looked at me in bored, rather uninterested, stares. I told them how I use to replay the scene for my parents and brothers. I stood there with a smile on my face hoping that they'd see how cool it was that one generation did the exact same thing as the next generation. All I got as a response is...

That is so cheesy!

*insert pin-pop balloon*

The same day I shared this family ritual with them, I lay listening to the kids once again say good night. Jimmy, the youngest by 30 seconds (twin) was the last to call out the good nights. He got to the end, paused, and I hear..."Good night Billybob."

Cheesy or not, I heard a heck of a lot of laughter coming from those four teenaged kids.

Yeah, those times make up some wonderful memories for us parents, and I bet, years down the line, a wonderful memory for my kids.