Bedtime, a time other toddlers detested, was my favorite part of the day. How could children dislike something so magical? Sleepy time for me was like seeing an illusionists perform on stage. My magicians are my parents, Carmeleta the creative and Rickardo the riveting. Unfortunately, they don’t put on shows for me anymore, but I can remember when they did.

Bedtime, is a beautiful time for me; it would be for my mom and dad, too, if they could get me to sleep that is. They had different techniques to get their little princess to bed. My daddy would dance me to sleep to his Bob Marley and Michael Jackson CDs. It worked. I can remember I was pretending to sleep while he was dancing to music. He was surprised that I was asleep so quickly. I just started to laugh; he fell for it. But when I asked him to dance again that night, he complained that I was getting too heavy.

As I got older and heavier, father refrained from dancing me to sleep. Instead he would lie on the bed beside me and we’d talk about anything and everything. It would start out with how to start a royal family and work its way to astronomy. The possibilities were endless. Whenever we’d talk, he’d be the first to fall asleep. Even magicians get tired, right?

The younger me was addicted to stories. I wouldn’t dare shut an eye without a story being read to me. I would choose the books. I remember my favorite was Snow White. I picked that almost every night. I could recite page by page, word for word. Mother would be amazed! My mommy would talk me to sleep to, but in a different way. We made up stories! I loved this so much. She’d start the story. “There once was a…” And I would have to make something up. She’ll do a sentence, I’ll do a sentence. We would go on and on and on until an unwritten masterpiece was created. We laughed and had so much fun, making up these stories.

When it was time to hit the hay, I was never bored or under stimulated. I was always amused and amazed. I was never the miserable child who despised going sleepy-bye and I never will be. Even without my magicians, I have learned to make my own magic with no imaginational boundaries.