Speaker 1: Having a sleepover at a friend's place can be a
really fun time, unless your friend tries to serve you
spaghetti without parmesan cheese.
Speaker 2: What kind of friend does that?
Speaker 1: Though, they could make up for it by lending you
a really soft, fluffy pillow. But then, what if the
pillow isn't soft and fluffy. What if it feels like
sleeping on a bag of frozen peas? Yikes? Kind of
makes you wonder are sleepover is even worth it? Well,
we're about to find out. Let's get into it. Hello, El,
story time is really not a boring time.
Speaker 2: Rat a stand and you'll be fine. Follow the whole storyline.
Speaker 1: Hello, El, story Time made you laugh at least one time.
All this is the story of sleepovers. Fun for kids,
loud and chaotic for parents. Hey, mom, can I sleep
over at Bobby's house tonight? It seemed like Curtis was
always asking to have sleepovers at his friend's place. Sweetheart,
who's Bobby?
Speaker 2: Mom? You know Bobby.
Speaker 1: He's the kid I just met five minutes ago at
the park. He rides a green bike, and apparently that
included friends who would only just become friends. Oh, I
don't know about that. Curtis, can we meet his parents?
Speaker 2: No?
Speaker 1: Well, can I speak with them over the phone? I
don't think that's gonna happen. Mom, Well, can I at
least meet Bobby first? Yeah? I don't think so.
Speaker 2: He seems kind of shy. Well, then my answer is no.
Speaker 1: Curtis was shocked.
Speaker 2: What, oh, you always do this?
Speaker 1: In reality, Curtis's mother had never done this. She was
a proud sleepover support So what if these kids were
always trying to plan sleepovers at the last second without
first consulting the calendar. In her eyes, sleepovers were great.
Having her son sleep over at somebody else's house meant
she could cook what she wanted for supper without having
to worry that someone might whine and comple that a
bean was touching their potatoes. For her, sleepovers meant she
could take long, hot baths without anyone knocking on the
bathroom door every five minutes asking for help to find
a missing sneaker or a long lost toy. Sleepovers meant
not having to give dozens of reminders that lights out
means lights out. But of all the parents out there,
Curtis's mom had the best reason to say no, because
you see Curtis liked the idea of having sleepovers, he
just wasn't very good at them. Curtis's mother couldn't think
of one time her son had made it through the
entire night. It didn't matter who he was staying with.
She would always get a phone call sometime before morning. Mom,
I need you to come pick me up from Jake's house.
I can't fall asleep. I've been lying here for hours. Mom,
I need you to come pick me up from Kimball's house.
The blanket that gave me has a really tiny hole
in it. Mom, I need you to come pick me
up from Tyrone's house. Their air conditioner is making a
sound that goes like wah wah wah wa wa wa
wa wa wah wah wah wah wah wah wah. Mom,
I need you to come pick me up from Clark's house.
Clark's not even here. Curtis's mother wanted these sleepovers to
go well, and every time she would say to herself,
maybe this time will be the one. But if it
hadn't happened by ten o'clock, she could almost always expect
a phone call by midnight. Darling, I know you liked
the idea of having sleepovers with your friends. But when
was the last time you made it through a sleepover
without calling me to pick you up early. Maybe it's
time we both accept that perhaps you're not a sleepover
kind of kid, and that's okay. Some kids are like that.
My friend Judy has a kid who thinks he's an
intergalactic space turtle. Curtis didn't like it, but he knew
his mom was right. He just wasn't sure why she
had mentioned the space turtle kid.
Speaker 2: Mom.
Speaker 1: Maybe I just haven't found the right sleepover yet. Can't
you just give me one more chance? Wanting so badly
to have another long, hot bath, his mother agreed to
give him one more chance. Of course, it also had
to be with a friend he had known for more
than a total of five minutes. Before the next weekend
came around, Curtis had received sleepover invitations from two of
his friends. Knowing he could only pick one, and knowing
this might be his last sleepover, Curtis had to think
long and hard about which one to choose. All right, Stampy,
we're gonna have to sit down and have a little chat.
I want you to tell me everything you know about
this sleepover you're having, and I mean everything. I want
to know what's for supper, what kind of snacks you have,
and everything we're going to be doing and how we're
going to be doing it. I also require a full
breakdown of all the people in your house who snore,
who make weir jokes, or who let their dogs bark
at all hours of the night. Stampy's sleepover was eliminated
from contention because the couch Curtis would have had to
sleep on sounded a little too firm for his comfort. Well, Kayden,
that just leaves your sleepover. But just because yours is
the only one left doesn't for sure mean I'll be
showing up. I need to make sure this can work.
I can't just well my one chance on any old sleepover.
Speaker 2: So tell me what she got.
Speaker 1: Kayden had never been grilled before over a sleepover. Uh okay, Well,
I was thinking it could be, you know, like one
of those sleepovers where you come over and uh, we
do sleepover stuff. If we do it right, maybe my
parents will have to tell us to turn the lights
off and stop talking. More than twenty times. Curtis carefully
considered this. This sleepover certainly had potential, and he did
like the part where there might be some sleepovery type
things happening. Not bad, all right, my man, I'm in
sounds like this could be the one I'll see a Saturday.
Curtis knew the stakes were high, and he knew there
was a lot that could go wrong, but he also
knew there was a lot that could go right. It
could even be a wonderful time, the first of many
perfect sleepovers to come. Since Curtis did not want to
treat this like any other sleepover, he prepared like never before.
But jam and slippers were not just carelessly thrown into
an overnight bag at the last minute. Curtis packed a
full suitcase. He had flee's pajamas in case it was
too cold, light pajamas in case it was too hot.
If the snack options at Caden's house were suboptable, no problem.
He filled an entire section of his suitcase with his
favorite snacks. He also saved room for games and coloring books,
as well as a portable TV and noise canceling headphones
to block out any unwelcome sounds like snoring. When Caden's
mother answered the door on Saturday, she took two steps
back upon seeing the size of Curtis's suitcase.
Speaker 2: Ooh, looks like you've packed a lot there. You're not
staying for the whole week, are you. Cayden told me
it would just be for one night.
Speaker 1: Don't worry, Cayden's mom, just one night, but it will
be all night.
Speaker 2: That's right.
Speaker 1: I will still be here when you wake up in
the morning because that's how sleepovers work, and I am
ready to make this happen. Curtis opened the suitcase to
show the contents to Kayden's mother.
Speaker 2: Check it out.
Speaker 1: Four different pairs of slippers. I definitely won't be calling
my mom early because my feet got too cold. Look
how fuzzy these ones are. Caden's mother forced herself to smile.
Speaker 2: Oh, that's great, Curtis. You know, my friend Judy has
a kid that reminds me of you.
Speaker 1: She looked like she was about to say more, but
thought better of it.
Speaker 2: Kayden, your friend is here.
Speaker 1: When Cayden came downstairs and saw the suitcase, his eyes
bugged out too. Whoa dude, you're not moving in, are you.
We only have one extra bedroom and my grandma likes
to use it when she comes to visit. Curtis suddenly
remembered something. He pulled out some flowers and handed them
to Cayden. I forgot to give these to your mom.
Did you know that sleepovers have a much higher success
rate when the host's parents are in a good mood.
Hope your mom likes fresh flowers. Cayden had never had
a sleepover start out like this. Curtis, is that a
mop and bucket in your suitcase?
Speaker 2: Indeed it was.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I brought it just in case, explained Curtis wasn't
sure how clean your house was going to be, but
by the looks of things, you guys are doing a
really great job. Did you know that people tend to
sleep better in a clean and tidy environment. Kayden decided
it might be better if he just stopped looking in
his friend's suitcase. Well, uh, Curtis, would you like to
go play? I've got a trampoline out back For the
rest of the afternoon. The kids had a blast. They
were in, they were out, they were up, they were down,
they were silly, they were loud, and they were having
so much fun. It wasn't until they were called in
for dinner when things took a turn. Well, running back
from Cayden's treehouse. Curtis tripped on a tree route and
scraped his knee. Are you okay, man asked Kayden. Should
I get my mom to call your mom? Curtis tried
to stand up and brush himself off. Do not call
my mom. I'm totally fine. Besides, I've got a first
aid kate with bandages and disinfectant in my suitcase.
Speaker 2: I can't prepare.
Speaker 1: Remember, my mom will not be hearing a peep out
of me tonight. But at dinner, Curtis realized he had
not prepared as well as he had thought.
Speaker 2: I hope you boys like spaghetti.
Speaker 1: Said Kayten's mom as they sat down at the table.
Curtis stated that he loved spaghetti. What a perfect choice
for a sleepover, and as last sleepover his friend's parents
had tried serving him a plate full of mushrooms, he
had been on the phone asking for his mother to
pick him up before dessert had even been announced. Curtis
smiled and thanked Kayten's mother as she sat down a
big plate of spaghetti in front of him. Could someone
please pass me the parmesan cheese? Sorry, Curtis apologized, Kayden.
We don't have any parmesan cheese. Curtis went stiff. Oh no,
I think I forgot to pack extra parmesan cheese in
my suitcase. I knew I was forgetting something. Curtis was
taking short, fast breaths. He did not look well. Curtis,
would you like us to call your mom? Curtis was
seriously considered. What kind of family served spaghetti without having
any parmesan cheese on hand? And these people were expecting
him to spend the night there.
Speaker 2: Yes, call my mom.
Speaker 1: I mean no, wait, I can do this. I can
eat spaghetti without palm. After all, it's just cheese, right,
It's just cheese. I can get past this, and Curtis
was glad he did. After the spaghetti, Kayden's parents brought
out some triple chocolate cake with extra junks of chocolate.
Once excused from the table, the boys picked up where
they had left off and continued playing. Curtis didn't even
have to pull any games or activities out of his
suitcase because Kayden had all sorts of fun stuff for
them to do. And so much like how the afternoon
had gone, the evening was full of loud, rambunctious silliness too.
At one point, Curtis had to offer the noise canceling
headphones to Kayden's mother.
Speaker 2: Will boys, it's getting late, Why don't you two set
up your sleeping bags in the living room and start
getting ready for bid?
Speaker 1: Just like he had a dinner, froze. Oh, I can't
believe I forgot my sleeping bag. I am such a
dufis macrufus. Yeah, but Curtis didn't have to call his
mother because Kaiden's family had an extra sleeping bag to
lend him.
Speaker 2: Actually, dear, we have.
Speaker 1: Two, a really warm one and am not so warm one,
just in case you get too hot. Curtis was very
impressed with his friend's family. These people really knew how
to host a sleepover.
Speaker 2: Guys, I think I know.
Speaker 1: I have never made it through a full sleepover before.
All the other families have been doing it all wrong.
You guys are like sleepover geniuses. I could practically live
here now. It was Kaiden's mother who froze.
Speaker 2: Live here. Remember, kids, we said this was just for
one night. One night has plenty.
Speaker 1: She then thought for a moment, unless you're the type
of kid who brings fresh flowers to their friends' mothers
every day, that was a really nice touch. In true
sleepover fashion, the boys had to be told to turn
off the light it's at least twenty times. Then after
the lights were off, they had to be told to
stop talking at least thirty times. And after they had
finished talking, that's when they started feeling hungry again. But
Curtis wasn't worried. He had plenty of snacks in his suitcase,
though he didn't even have to touch those snacks. Cayden
brought up popcorn dipped in caramel. After they had finally
settled back into their sleeping bags, Kayden checked with Curtis
one last time. So how are you feeling?
Speaker 2: Man?
Speaker 1: Do you think we need to call your mom? Curtis
was holding a pair of noise canceling headphones in his hands,
but he realized he wasn't going to need them. Kayden's
house was perfectly quiet, no sign of any snoring. Dude,
he said, I can't see anyway the sleepover is not
going to work out. Apart from the parmesan cheese, the
sleepover has been perfect. And I don't think I've ever
slept in a more comfortable sleeping bag in my life.
I'm not hot, I'm not cold.
Speaker 2: I'm just good.
Speaker 1: Curtis rested his head pillow that had just the right
amount of fluffiness and softness, Nothing like that extra firm
pillow he had to use at the last sleepover he
went to.
Speaker 2: That thing was as.
Speaker 1: Comfortable as sleeping on a stack of bricks. All right, then,
said Kayden, turning off his flashlight. Good night, dude, It
sure felt like it was going to be a good night,
maybe one of the best nights. Curtis was loving the sleepover,
and finally he was about to make it to the end.
He was actually going to sleep there till morning. But
as his heavy eyelids began to close, Curtis saw something
on the ceiling above him. With just enough moonlight coming
in through the window, there was no mistaking what he saw. Ah,
he yelled, jumping up spider, but because he was still
wrapped in his sleeping bag, he fell right over the
moment he tried to run, crashing right down on top
of his friend, who had already fallen asleep. Oh, yelped Kayden,
what are you doing. Curtis slept out of his sleeping
bag and grabbed his friend's flashlight. He turned an on
and pointed the light at the ceiling. Kayden looked up.
There on the ceiling was a teeny tiny baby spider.
It was actually kind of cute. Curtis was already packing
his suitcase. You're gonna have to have your mom call
my mom. I can't sleep here tonight. Kayden wasn't sure
if it was because of the cute little spider or
if something else had happened. He climbed up on a
chair and gently took the spider in his hand. He
then opened a window and set the spider free. There
you go, man, spider's gone. You can go back to
sleep now you've got this, Curtis, you're gonna make it.
It was nice of his friend to be so supportive,
but Curtis knew he was not gonna make it. Sorry, Kayden,
I thought I could do it, but I can't do it.
How do I know that spider doesn't have a cousin
that lives on the other side of the room.
Speaker 2: I gotta go.
Speaker 1: Curtis didn't say one word in the car as his
mother drove him home. His mother didn't say much either.
She did open her mouth to Yan a few dozen times, though, well,
sorry it didn't work out, Darling, at least you waited
until after I had already had my long, hot bath.
Curtis had come so close he had almost fallen asleep,
and now, just like that, his sleepover days were over.
He had blown his last chance, all because of a
cute little spider. He had seen spiders at his own
home plenty of times and had never made a big
deal out of it. Then maybe it was just another
sign that he really wasn't cut out for sleepovers. After all,
some kids don't like homework. He apparently was a kid
who didn't like sleepovers. After the weekend, Curtis was surprised
when Cayden actually came over to talk to him at school.
Sorry for routing your sleepover, Cayden, you must think him
are real weirdo. Cayden had already forgotten about the sleepover. Nah,
it's all good, man, I get it. Some people just
prefer the comfort of their own home. But just so
you know, my parents said you were welcome to come
back anytime.
Speaker 2: They really liked you.
Speaker 1: Curtis figured it must have been the flowers, because they
definitely didn't seem happy when he complained about the parmesan cheese. Well,
that's really nice to your parents. But I'm afraid that
was actually my last sleepover. Maybe I'll try again when
I'm forty five. It seemed odd to Kayden that his
friend was just gonna stop having sleepovers altogether. Really, that's it,
no more sleepovers at all. I'm sure the sleepovers that
you host at your house must go a lot better.
Cayden had just said something that totally blew Curtis's mind. Cayden,
what did you just say? Kayden repeated himself. I said, really,
that's it, no more sleepovers at all. I'm sure the
sleepovers that you host at your house must go a
lot better. Curtis could feel a huge smile spreading across
his face. It was the last thing you said about
having a sleepover at my house. Why have I never
thought of that? Of course, that right there is the
recipe for a perfect sleepover. No offense to your sleepover, Cayden,
I still give you second prize. Curtis skipped all the
way home after school, greeting every person he passed along
the way. Beautiful day today, mister Johnson, wouldn't you say?
And an even more beautiful weekend coming up. Perfect weather
to have a friend spend the night. Oh, I do
love a good sleepover, don't you, mister Johnson? Uh well,
I certainly like it when my kids have sleepovers at
their friend's houses. Only chance I ever get to take
a long, hot bath. Curtis came bursting through the door
so loudly he startled his mother.
Speaker 2: Mom.
Speaker 1: So, I know we agreed no more sleepovers, but that
was before I realized we could be having them at
our place. I mean, no wonder, I've never liked any
of those other sleepovers. No one else knows how to
do soft pillows and warm blankets like we do. So
what do you think can Kayden spend the night at
our house this weekend? His mother was not jumping up
and down like he had hoped she would be doing.
Speaker 2: A sleepover at our house? Do you think that's really necessary?
Speaker 1: Curtis shrugged. Well, it's definitely not necessary, but it certainly
could be fun. Besides, we're the perfect people to host
a sleepover. I wouldn't be surprised if we get asked
to publish a book about hosting the perfect sleepover. Everyone's
gonna want to know how we get our pillows just right.
His mother reluctantly agreed, but told him that if this
sleepover didn't work, this would definitely be the last one.
Just remember, dear, you can't call me to pick you
up from your own sleepover, and you can't call your
friend's mom to pick you up from your own sleepover either.
Speaker 2: That would be rude.
Speaker 1: Curtis told his mother not to worry. He had never
felt more sure about anything in his life this time.
His sleepover was bound to work. On Saturday, when Caiten
only showed up with jammies and a toothbrush tossed into
an overnight bag, Curtis told him not to worry. He
had everything else covered. All afternoon long, the boys played
together and had an absolute blast. They were in out, up, down, quiet, loud,
mostly loud, and were very silly and rambunctious. Dinner was great,
dessert was great, even the late night snacks were great
thanks to Curtis's brilliant idea to makes morse. But the
best part was that Curtis had one of the, if
not the best sleeps of his entire life. Not even
a thunderclop could have woken this kid up from his
deep slumber. In the morning, he got up and did
a little dance. He then went and found his mother
in the kitchen. Well, we did it, mom, sleepover success.
And I don't know about you, but that was the
best night I've had in a really long time. We
shall start having people sleep over every weekend. I'm glad
you had a nice time, dear, but if you don't mind,
I'm gonna try heading back to bed to see if
I can get a little more sleep. Curtis's mother had
not slept well at all, and it wasn't just because
of the headache from all the noise. She'd also stayed
up waiting for the boys to go to bed. She
figured she'd probably given them at least thirty five reminders
to turn out the lights and stop talking. Earlier in
the evening, when she had tried to have a long,
hot bath, he kept getting interrupted. The first knock at
the bathroom door was to ask where the gram crackers were,
The second knock at the door was to ask where
the marshmallows were, and the third knock, five minutes later
was to ask where the chocolate was. And just when
I had finally drifted off to sleep, your friend woke
me up to see if I could call his mother.
Curtis had assumed his friend was still sleeping in his
sleeping bag, but when he went to check, he saw
that his friend was gone. He didn't make it through
the night, but how I thought it was the perfect sleepover.
Curtis's mother handed him a piece of paper with the
list of all the reasons Curtis had given her. Apparently,
the room had been too cold, and his pillow was
too soft, his sleeping bag had made a weird sound
every time he tried to change positions, the air conditioner
had been humming too loudly, and there was a little
light at the bottom of the TV that made the
room just a little too bright for sleeping. Curtis read
the list over several times before looking at his mother. Well,
you know, some people can be so fossy. It wasn't
like we didn't have any parmesan cheese. The end. That's
the story, And here is your question of the week.
What is something that makes it difficult for you to
fall asleep when you're spending the night somewhere else? Thanks
to Curtis and Caiden, and shout out to the following listeners,
Harvey and Toby Clemens from New Zealand, cad and Timothy
Jet from Durban, South Africa, Lane A from Bennett, Colorado,
Emma Jane Jackson from British Columbia, Lola and Finley from Bedfordshire, England,
Levi and Ila along with their dog Lily from Gray Highlands, Ontario. Desmond, Dorian,
Matteo and Satia from Philadelphia, Race, Rose and l from
pitt Meadows, BC, Manu from Auckland, New Zealand, and Ella
and Body from Washington State along with their cats Suki
Bagel and Mango sticky Rice. Thanks for listening and I'll
catch you on the next one.