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When I was very little I shared a room with my older sister Barbara. We used to share a double bed. I remember we’d have this imaginary line down the middle of the bed delineating my side from hers. We had this rule that any part of your body that crossed the line was fair game, meaning that the other person could do whatever they wanted to it. She loved to torment me by putting a foot or an arm on my side. I would do my best karate chops to the offending appendage, but she’d just continue. I think I even tried to give her an “Indian burn” but  nothing worked. I remember being frustrated and annoyed and I suspect she thought that was funny because she continued to cross the line each night.

At one point I shared a room with my brother Lee. I remember we had two single beds that  were on opposite walls and that Lee and I would talk for hours each night. I don’t think that arrangement lasted very long since neither of us got much sleep.

I shared a room with each of my siblings at some point during my childhood. Bryan used to sleep in my bed each night and I remember my parents finally got him a toddler bed and put it in my room. My mother made him a “Barney” blanket which he loved, but I don’t think he made it an entire night in his bed and we eventually moved his bed out.

Krista used to also sleep in my bed each night. I don’t remember when it started or ended, but I often had Krista and Bryan in my single bed at night and Sarah would get very jealous so I let her sleep in my bed a few times too. Krista would roll over into the  crack between the bed and the wall and sleep there all night. Sarah liked to spread out more so I soon realized that sharing with Sarah didn’t work. I know Krista slept in my bed when I was in high school because I remember that we used to read scriptures together. One night she was in my bed falling asleep and I was doing homework in bed and she asked me if I could take a break from homework and read scriptures before she fell asleep. I remember feeling guilty that I had saved scriptures for last and after that occasion I would read them earlier with her.

Since I’m on the subject of sleeping, I had this babysitting job while I was in high school. It was at a house in the circle across the street. I’m not sure how we set it up or how they knew me but it was an unmarried couple who both worked nights. They had 3 elementary aged kids. I’d walk over to their house at night with my pillow and my scriptures and I’d go to sleep on the couch. I had an alarm clock that would wake me up in time to walk home and get ready for early morning seminary. They were always there when I got there, but weren’t home until maybe an hour after I left. It was the easiest job I ever had. In all the time I slept there the kids only woke up once with a nightmare and after a quick prayer went back to sleep with no further problems.