The Slight Shift of Slumber

Tonight we got home pretty late after Josh's basketball game.  I wanted to just put the kids to bed so I could go to bed myself.  This day had been a trying one...an emotional one.  I tried for twenty minutes with no avail to get both kids calmed down, and after denying Axton's tearful and very adamant pleas for me to lay down with him, I left the room frustrated, only to hear Anchor begin to cry louder.  Eleven o'clock.  My kids were wide awake and cranky.  Perfect.

After a few minutes of hearing their lasting cries, I stopped paying attention.  But not too long after that, I noticed that both kids had suddenly stopped crying.  I went to check on them.

As I peeked into the room, I saw Axton cradling his baby brother in his arms and carrying him over to his bed.  He had successfully picked Anchor up and gotten him out of the crib somehow.  I could hear him whispering, "It's ok little brother, it's ok.  Axton's here.  It's ok sweet baby."  He brought Anchor into the bed with him and put the blankets over them, continuing to whisper over the baby's soft whimpers, "It's ok, it's ok".  Once under the blankets, I saw Anchor instinctively curl into Axton, and his soft whimpers immediately turned into a dull, rolling snore.  All the while, Axton's hand gently patted Anchor's back in a sweet and uneven rhythm: "It's ok.  It's ok.  Axton's here."

And I watched as my children fell asleep together.