Reznet

Just After 8 O'Clock

By Christie Cooke

It's just after 8:00 p.m.

I don't want to do anything but sleep.

"What do I need to do for the babies before bedtime?" I ask myself. My thoughts tell me: two diapers, one warm bottle of formula, one Sippy cup filled with whole milk, Onesie for Edward, princess nightgown for Emma, two toothbrushes, one tube of Kids Crest and another tube of infant tooth gel.

Both are changed, fed, cleaned up for the night, and we are finally ready for bed!

We lay down together. The babies are sucking on their milk. But there is one thought that keeps me awake. "I haven't brushed my teeth."

Sometimes I'm so tired and busy with trying to get to bed at night that I just forget to do so. But tonight I remember, and I can't go to sleep because of it.

Twice a day I spend about 10 minutes with my children brushing their teeth, promoting good hygiene and encouraging them to continue with these healthy habits.

Tonight the only reason I wake up in my exhausted state is because I do not want to mother my children in hypocritical ways. It's a principle I created for myself.

I want to be the mother who not only tells her children how to live in the right ways, but also shows and lives by those rules, too.

So I drag into the bathroom, dead tired, usually, and pick up my toothbrush and toothpaste, and brush, rinse and spit.

Finally, I'm off to sleep! And I'm able to sleep peacefully.

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Read Christie Cooke's previous Native Moms blog, "My Children's Umbilical Cords"

Christie Cooke, Navajo, has a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from the University of Arizona. She is a graduate of the Freedom Forum's 2007 American Indian Journalism Institute.

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