Always With Me

Part 36- Reagan Elliott

Once everyone left my house after the baby shower, my kids were all wound up from the sugar they'd just consumed. Jase was running shirtless throughout the house yelling "Fish are Friends" while Abigail bounced a princess beach ball against the wall. Katie was crying nonstop and I knew that it was because she was too tired to still be awake.

"Jase, calm down," I said as I grabbed him as he ran by me for the one hundredth time. "It's time for a bath. You can watch a little bit of TV for a few minutes before you go to sleep if you cooperate with me."

Jase, instead of listening, walked to the bathroom and then ran out to make another lap around the house. This time in his underwear.

"Alright, you have three seconds to get into the bath," I fussed. "One, Two," by the time I got to three, he was screaming as he made a b-line for the tub. I helped him take a bath while I had him trapped in the bathroom. I heard my phone ringing in the other room, but I ignored it as he squirmed every time I poured soup onto his head. His hair fell flat and that made him laugh. He then proceeded to blow some bubbles at me and made them cover my face.

"Mommy, you look silly," Jase said. I stuck my tongue out at him before I wiped my face off with the towel. My phone rang again, but I still was too preoccupied with bathing my energetic three year old to go answer it. When we finished, I helped him get out of the tub and wrapped the towel around him. He ran to his room and I followed to put a pair of small, plaid pajamas on him and slide a t-shirt over his damp body. He brushed his teeth and I let him sit on the couch and watch an episode of Pink Panther on TV while I helped Abigail. All that I had to do for her was fill the tub and check to make sure her hair didn't have shampoo coated in it when she got out. She walked back to her room after her bath with a towel around her and put on a small pink robe and some shorts. She brushed her hair and put her glasses back on, but she looked exhausted. I went into her room and kissed her 'goodnight'. She fell asleep instantly, so I removed her glasses from her face and left the room. I left the door cracked like she liked it. Jase was still sitting on the couch, but I could tell that he had calmed down tremendously. I lifted him from the couch and he fell limp in my arms. I walked and put him in bed, and when I laid him down, I realized that his brown eyes were barely staying open. I kissed him 'goodnight' as well and then shut the door. They had had busy days, so I didn't wake them up to do a Bible study or to pray. Instead, I rocked Katie to sleep in the room where Dahlia used to sleep. After Dahlia left, I moved Katie's crib back into the room.

Katie's brown eyes barely stayed awake now, and her breaths were short and sweet. I began singing to her, and her lips curled up into a small smile as she allowed sleep to take over her body. She still had tears drying on her cheeks, but she looked serene. I kissed her gently and then finally laid her down in her bed. She let out a sharp breath when I put her down but allowed her chin to quiver for one second before she went to sleep again. I made sure her baby monitor was on and I left her door open. As I walked beside my children's bedrooms, I said a quiet prayer for them.

When I got into the living room, the entire house was silent. I found my phone that had been ringing and I saw that my mom had called me twice. I called her back and waited patiently for her to answer. It was getting late, so I knew that she was going to be at my house soon.

"Hello?" she asked after a few rings.

"Hey, Mom. Sorry I missed your calls. I just got finished getting the kids into bed," I told her.

"That's fine. How did the baby shower go?" she asked. I had spoken to her earlier today, and I knew that she was running a little late. She had intended on being here for the baby shower, but a change of plans kept her from doing so.