Sophie is obsessed with the night.

One of her first questions each morning: “What are we doing tonight?”

Can we go out to dinner, will we see anyone special?How about a movie? A trip to Claire’s? And — always — can she sleep in our bed? Ray and I are pretty lenient with that (too lenient) but some mornings, particularly after she’s kicked me all night, the answer is NO.

The biggest question, even bigger than how she’s going to manage to get in my bed, is, “Can I have a sleepover?”

Your house, our house, it doesn’t really matter. The other day I was horrified when Sophie turned on the charm a little too hard in Trader Joe’s, greeting people randomly (something she doesn’t always do, I swear) and at one point even inviting a little girl she’d never met to come over for a play date.

At least it wasn’t a sleepover, I thought, as I steered her away from a drop-mouthed mom and a confused child.

Usually, it’s Sarah, the BFF (or B for short) who sleeps over, and I laughed hard on Saturday morning when I found a comic Sarah drew the night before. (Probably because she was bored after Sophie fell asleep so early.) It’s true, after all that cajoling about The Night, Sophie is typically asleep before 8.

I understand, I’m often right there with her, collapsed on the couch. But I can usually hold off if I’ve got a friend over.