Yesterday son-in-law, eldest step-daughter and I had this discussion about how we say good night.
- I now like to sneak off without bothering anyone, not draw attention to myself, but there was a time when I'd say 'goodnight'. My parents brought me up to say 'goodnight and god bless'.
- Late husband used say, "I'm going to bed now; you can come if you like."
- ESD says that when she was little, her mother used to get the three of them to say good night prayers, but that somehow that habit disappeared when they were older, perhaps when they moved house. That reminded me that we used to do something similar: prayers next to the bed when I was very small, and later we used to kneel in the sitting room to say family prayers. Like ESD's family they were along the lines of "God bless Nanna and Aunty Thing and ...", so almost a ritual.
- S-in-L says that he has to say 'good night' to everyone, and may be hug them. The conversation started from his expression of love and care for his son.
- S-in-L's Italian father gets very upset if someone goes to bed without saying 'goodnight', perhaps because his own father was so undemonstrative, and would retire without a word.
These rituals might be a continuation of a family tradition, or a reaction to a tradition that someone didn't like. What did you do? What do you do for a bedtime ritual?
