The Entourage
Oct 22nd, 2005 by Tana
I was watching some documentary on tv recently – maybe it was the show on A&E about the people who work at the mortuary. I’m not sure. The point is they were planning funerals and burying people. One of the deceased persons was of some Eastern religion – Buddhism or something like that. Sorry I don’t remember. But they had two caskets – one for the person, and one for all the things they needed to take with them to the “world beyond.” These items included everything from personal possessions such as clothing to canned food. It was a serious entourage, let me tell you!
Every evening I am reminded of that because when it comes time for Ben to go to bed, he takes his entourage with him. His sippy cup. His favorite stuffed bunny. Raggedy Andy. Those are the regulars. And every night there are others who are included as well. Sometimes it’s the xylophone…the plastic puppy dog who barks when you pull him around the house…even the empty bottle of Windex that he likes to play with has been included in the Entourage.
Steve is usually the one to put Ben to bed. The routine begins with putting his night clothes on. Then you read a story. And then the Entourage is gathered. If I’m working downstairs, there’s always at least one toy that Ben has to come downstairs to get. He always starts with one of his favorites, such as the bunny, and then he keeps looking until he’s found everyone who will be going to bed with him. He takes the items to his bed one by one and tosses them over the side. Once he is done, he stands next to the crib and lifts up his arms signalling that he is ready to get in.
And everyone, including Ben, must be put to sleep. The bunny and Raggedy Andy must be lying tummy down and their backs must be patted. “Night-night, Mr. Bunny. Night-night, Raggedy Andy. Night-night, Ben.” Then everyone goes to sleep. As in, once the Entourage is all settled, Steve just walks out of the room and goes about his business. Ben may chatter to himself for a few minutes, but in less than five minutes, it is quiet and everyone is asleep.
And every time we do this, I think of that show and the Buddhist person who had to take all these things with him to the “after-life.” When Ben wakes up in the morning, all of his friends are always as they were when everyone went to bed. But I wonder, does he dream about them at night when they’re with him? If so, what kind of fun do they have? What kind of things do they do? I wonder…