I am almost nine years old and my bed time is 8:30 p.m. I think that is so unfair! I think I am old enough to stay up until at least 9:00 p.m. My parents say that I have to go to bed early because I have school the next day. I can't wait until I am grown up and can stay awake as long as I want. Even though I think I should be able to go to bed later, I do like our night time routine. At about 8:l5 p.m., my Mom sends us up to put on our pyjamas. When we come back downstairs, we read together. Sometimes Mom will read to us, and sometimes we will read to her. If Dad is not working, he will sometimes read, too. Mostly it is Mom we read with though. When we read, Mom helps us with words we cannot read. We have to try and sound the word out, but if we are really stuck, she will help us. If we come to a place in our reading where we do not understand the meaning of what was written, we stop reading and look at Mom. She will tell us what it means or help us figure it out on our own. After we are finished reading, we say goodnight to everyone in our house. First we say goodnight to Mom and give her a hug and a kiss. Then we do the same for Dad, then our little sister, and then our dog! Afterwards, we go upstairs and brush our teeth. I have to do special stretching exercises for the muscles in my chest and legs, or I get pains when I run and play. I do my stretching before I get into bed. After my exercises, either my brother or I turn off the lights. We share a bedroom, so we take turns turning the light off. Before we get into bed, we say our prayers. After we get into our beds, my brother and I talk to each other for a long time. We tell each other about our day, about what we hope will happen in the future, about our friends and all sorts of other important things. After awhile, we get so tired, we just fall asleep in the middle of talking! Even though we go to bed at 8:30 p.m., we talk so long we don't go to sleep until about l0:00 p.m. I still do not know why I have to go to bed so early when I am not even tired!
