Alex's Bed Train

I've just written my shortest book ever, at 101 words.

As you may have guessed from my Ten-Word Tuesday, our three-year-old son is having trouble sleeping. He gets scared of noises, even asking about them long after they've stopped. He's a champion staller, and when we do get him into bed, he tosses and turns like I do before falling asleep. (Though I don't bring trains to bed and play with them to stay awake.) Lately he insists on having my husband stay in the room with him until he falls asleep, which can take well over an hour. (And Alex has a late bedtime to begin with.) If we leave Alex alone in his room, he bursts out, crying and looking for us. Even once he's safely asleep in his bed, if he wakes up in the middle of the night, he comes into our room, ensuring no one sleeps well.

Last night, to give my husband a break, I sat with Alex. I sat just outside the open room, watching him do everything but sleep. Finally, when it was past my bedtime, I tried to leave, and Alex went into crisis mode. I had to bring him back to his bed a couple of times. In the end, he finally fell asleep--probably because I gave in and sat by his bed until he fell asleep. But while I was there, I stroked his hair and told him a story about the bed train taking him to the sleep station. (He's quite the "trainiac.") At least tonight he slept through, though he has roused a couple of times this morning calling for me. So I jotted down a quick story for him. I plan to illustrate it with pictures of him and his bedroom. If I get ambitious enough, I may have a copy bound for him. (I hope this self-publishing doesn't turn off any editors or agents.) Who knows, maybe I should do some research into selling the text to a picture book publisher. I figure that would be even harder than the regular book market, though.

I'll be rewarded enough if Alex sleeps well--so we can too.