In the Dark of the Night

It's Tuesday night at 10:30 and only two of my five kids are actually sleeping. No, they're not sick, they're night-owls. It's a genetic disorder that arouses energy at late hours of the night. Unfortunately early mornings nearly always follow. It doesn't matter, there will be another late night followed by yet another.

I should be working on my book, catching up on some of those word goals, but instead I'm kissing kids goodnight again and writing a post. My husband went to Walmart to pick up the lost bag of groceries that we forgot to load in the cart. You would think it was a Saturday afternoon. But no, I'm still negotiating with my kids that it's actually very late, they have school tomorrow and that if they don't go to bed I'm probably going to lose my mind.

I'm a night-owl too, but that's when I'm supposed to get time away from my kids. You know, breathe in and out and think straight at the same time without someone asking me to sign their paper, find them some lotion, get them a drink, find a green crayon for that homework assignment that they still haven't finished and then say goodnight again for the hundredth time. Me time. Whatever.

But in all fairness, they have to put up with the fact that I'm not a very good cook, I don't keep the house immaculately clean- it's more like survival clean, and that I'm better at helping with homework, giving hugs and kisses and talking to them than I am at all those domestic skills. We get by, but even the kids are starting to realize that if they don't pitch in around the house they're not going to be able to walk through it pretty soon.

But, we'll drag ourselves out of bed and slowly ease into another day. That's when we'll wish we were morning people instead.