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ALL ABOARD THE CRAZY TRAIN.


I mentioned the other day that Maggie is currently obsessed with the movie Polar Express. And that one day last week, she woke up at 6:15am, crying that she wanted to ride the Christmas train.

Well, she did it again last night. Only this time, it was ONE-THIRTY AM.

And seriously? This is like the first time she’s been up in the middle of the night in MONTHS, nearly a YEAR if you don’t count her being sick a few times. And all because of a Christmas movie!

I finally got her calmed down after going into her room twice and getting her some milk (‘mook’) I had to convince her that it was nighttime and the train only comes in the morning when it’s light outside (this detail will be important in a moment, trust me.) When it’s morning, we can watch the Christmas train, I promise! She sat up for a few more minutes, rocking back and forth, fighting to stay awake with her eyes all droopy. Then she finally laid her head down on the pillow and I tucked her back in under the covers.

I crawled back in bed and Dan and I had a chuckle over what a goofball she is. THE CHRISTMAS TRAIN! SHE THINKS IT’S REAL! HOW ADORABLE IF ONLY IT WEREN’T THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!

I rolled over and started to doze for about 10 minutes.

Then I heard it. The train whistle.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.

There are two train crossings near our house. One is about 4 miles away, and the other is probably less than a mile, definitely not much more than a mile (I suck at judging distances, btw.) The train must have been coming from the far one, because it was very quiet.

I held my breath. Dan laughed (of course he did. I’m the one who would have to go in and calm her butt down.) Would she hear it? I JUST told her the train doesn’t come until morning and OMG is she going to be pissed at Mom for lying when she hears that train whistle. And she’s totally going to think it’s the Christmas train, the Polar-FREAKING-Express coming to pick her up and take her to the North Pole to see Santa (‘Don’t lose your ticket!’ she always says.)

The whistle blew a couple more times, and then all was quiet.

Whew.

Then a few minutes later, I heard it again. This time, MUCH louder, because it was only about a mile away. (Funny how I NEVER hear the train when we’re sleeping??)

Again I started panicking. Straining to hear if she was stirring. I thought for sure, this was it. She was going to wake up and holy crap was she going to lose her mind.

So you know, this story would be a lot more ‘full-circle’ if she HAD in fact woken up and had a fit about the Christmas train coming, but sorry to disappoint you. Luckily for me, she did not wake up. She stayed asleep, blissfully unaware that there was a train passing nearby. Possibly a Christmas one. With a trip to see Santa.

But that doesn’t mean *I* went back to sleep easily. After being so panicked at 1:30 in the morning, it takes a while to calm back down. I don’t think I fell back to sleep until sometime around 3.

DAMN YOU, TOM HANKS.

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13 Comments


  1. Sarah @ Ordinary Days

    Dec 17 at 9:25 am

    I’ve been put on alert to notify the little ones in my house if I should hear the Polar Express at night. I think they would totally flip out too if they actually heard a train. They LOVE that movie!



  2. psumommy

    Dec 17 at 12:27 pm

    My parents’ house was a few blocks from train tracks and I never heard them, either…funny what we zone out! But yeah, I’ve had those middle-of-the-night-PLEASE-don’t-wake=up panic attacks, too! I hope your day isn’t too bad from being so tired!
    psumommy’s last blog post: Trying to sort things out



  3. Carpetbagger

    Dec 17 at 1:03 pm

    You could tell her that not every train is the Christmas train. There’s the Steelers’ train to sucksville. There’s the runaway trains that Bruce Willis and Woody Harrelson usually have to save in movies. There are cowboy trains that get robbed by evil bandits. Then, there are Amtrak trains that smell of urine and bad cheese.

    Not to mention Peace trains, holocaust trains, ghost trains, freedom trains, and bullet trains. There is also the Siberian Express that usually derails when the engineer drinks too much vodka. “Now go to bed.”

    Yet another reason why I should never be a parent.



  4. bluzdude

    Dec 17 at 1:20 pm

    Plus, the Gravy Train, which used to be favored by dogs all across the country, because their meal would be preceded by a miniature wagon train careening across the kitchen floor.

    Also, the Crazy Train, favored by Ozzy Osbourne.
    bluzdude’s last blog post: The Santa Hammer



  5. Jane

    Dec 17 at 2:58 pm

    Laughing so hard right now… oh that would be my luck too!
    Jane’s last blog post: Unwrapped



  6. LZ

    Dec 17 at 4:32 pm

    You are so not alone in this. My yongest gets fixated on certain things and wakes us up at all hours. Most recently? She has woken up at midnight – several times – demanding to wear her Minnie Mouse dress. Cute, but I just want to sleep!
    LZ’s last blog post: I love ugly ornaments



  7. Priscilla

    Dec 17 at 5:00 pm

    hahhaah…that is funny….sorry but it is! Oh and I think the crossing is about a mile away.
    Priscilla’s last blog post: Protected: A Little Help Would Be Nice



  8. the ambitious mrs

    Dec 17 at 9:12 pm

    Lily also watched the Polar Express with rapt attention recently. But she got soooo scared of the reindeer! It was so weird, she’s never gotten scared of TV like that before!

    We have train whistles I never hear except when I can’t sleep at night too!
    the ambitious mrs’s last blog post: Compare A Baby



  9. Sarah Wells

    Dec 18 at 11:31 am

    Oh my goodness. I laughed outload down here about this story. SO funny. I find myself relieve we currently don’t have a nearby train track!
    Sarah Wells’s last blog post: I am a garland snob.



  10. Lisa

    Dec 18 at 9:12 pm

    I guess I’m just glad my kid didn’t yet seem interested in that movie when he watched it. Oh dear….maybe next year for us! (We live near a train crossing too).



  11. Kelly

    Dec 18 at 10:30 pm

    We hear the trains through West Deer all the time. I’m going to look to find that movie for Peanut. He luuuuuurves choo choos. And I completely understand your panic!
    Kelly’s last blog post: Little Drummer Boy



  12. samantha jo campen

    Dec 23 at 12:06 pm

    Okay that is just AWESOME. I can TOTALLY feel you being all freaked out when you heard the whistle and holy hell if she had woken up? I would PAY to read about THAT.

    Tee!
    samantha jo campen’s last blog post: My thoughts and feelings on everything Christmas related



    • Jen

      Dec 23 at 12:14 pm

      Well, I’ll tell ya what. If it ever happens again, I’ll give you a call in the wee hours of the night so you can hear the story first-hand ;) LOL