Prompt: Nighttime Rituals

A few of the blogs I follow posted this yesterday. I guess there is a Throwback Thursday prompt each week by a couple sites I cannot remember off the top of my head. I thought this was a very neat set of questions to think back on and answer. After I publish this, I will go back and try to find the names of the original poster of these.

(UPDATED) The authors of the original post is Maggie, at From Cave Walls, and Lauren, at LSS Attitude of Gratitude. The idea of the prompt is for them to give us a topic and for us to write a post in which we share our own memories or experiences about the given topic. This week, Maggie asks us about our nighttime rituals growing up.

This week’s prompt is: Nighttime Rituals

You can either free write using these questions as inspiration or answer the questions as they are.

Did you share a room with a sibling, or did you have a room of your own?

I recall doing both. There were times that my brother and I shared a room and times where we had separate rooms. I remember when we first moved to separate rooms being a bit scared of the dark (and probably being alone). I used to get up and turn the hall light on all the time. Then there were times that I’d call to my brother and have him come in my room, or vice versa.

There were plenty of times were we’d be up screwing around and laughing, which would ultimately cause my dad to have to get up from the living room and yell at us to stay in bed. I don’t know that my dad ever really had the chance to watch a show at night when we were in separate rooms. It seems like he was always coming in to yell at us.

Did you resist going to bed or did you go willingly?

My dad may disagree with me, but I think I went to bed willingly most nights. I think the issue was staying in bed. I’m sure that there were times I resisted, but I don’t recall many times where I fought to stay up.

Did someone put you to bed, tuck you in, or read you a bedtime story?

I am sure as a toddler my mom or dad read me bedtime stories. I remember many of them and have read those to my own kids at bed time. I remember my dad reading us Babar the elephant stories for some reason.

I guess both parents kind of alternated in putting us to bed. I recall my dad always putting us to bed after birthdays and Christmas. He always asked if we got what we wanted and if we had a good day.

Was there a religious component, like prayers, to your nighttime routine?

I remember saying prayers at night. As a kid it was usually the “Now I lay me down to sleep” prayer. At some point that began to freak me out. The line “If I shall die before I awake” began to scare me a bit.

As I got older and realized that prayers didn’t have to be repetitive and such, I actually began to pray and have a conversation with God. Those times meant more than the ones I said just to say them.

Did you go to sleep immediately, or lie awake?

I fooled around a lot. I almost never went right to sleep. I remember having a flashlight next to my bed or under my pillow. I would sometimes grab a book and read it with the flashlight on. I also had a small hand held radio with one of those white ear buds that only went in one ear.

I would plug it in and fall asleep listening to the radio – maybe a Tigers game or just music. Later, I had a portable cassette player and I would listen to Old Radio Shows like Fibber McGee and Molly, Dragnet, Jack Benny or Suspense.

Did you ever sleepwalk?

Not to my knowledge.

Did you remember having dreams? If you dreamed, did you ever have bad dreams? Do you remember any dreams specifically?

I do remember dreaming. I recall many times I would have bad dreams and end up crawling into bed with my folks, or my brother. The one dream I have had for years is the “tornado dream” which I blogged about before. You can read it here:

Recurring Dreams

Were you afraid of the dark? Did you sleep with a nightlight or sneak into your sibling’s or parent’s room at night because you were afraid?

Yes. I’m not sure why, but I was very afraid of the dark. I always had a nightlight. I remember when my brother and I had to spend the night at my grandma’s house, they slept in complete darkness and I remember being scared to death. I was always used to hearing my folks up watching TV or talking on the phone. My grandparents would go to be when we went to bed. Complete darkness and eerie quiet. I heard all kinds of noises.

I often snuck into my brothers room or vice versa. Going into my parent’s room was not unheard of either.

Did you have or attend sleepovers or slumber parties?

I remember having sleepovers with a few friends as a young kid. Sometimes I went to their house and sometimes they came to mine. I remember having friends over to watch movies and such. As a teen, I remember one sleepover where a bunch of friends came over and we all slept in a tent in the back yard. My dad wound up cooking a HUGE breakfast for all of us.

How about you? What are your answers to the questions? I’d love to hear them.