Snoooooooze

He did it again.  I was dead asleep and he crept into my room, stood with his face inches from mine, and woke me by whispering, “Moooommmmmieeee.”  I shot straight up with sharp intake of breath and very nearly yelled “Holy Shit!” in the presence of my four-year-old.  It was 7:30 am.

 

Daylight Saving Time, right?  What a bitch.  I’m certain that my lament is the same as that of parents everywhere: I HATE Daylight Saving Time.  There is no possible gain in utility that is enough to counter the dragging, soul-sucking level of tired reached by most of the nation the Monday after the time shift or the crazed children whose schedules have been thrown off.  Shoot, Jamie didn’t wake up until 8 am, which means that he probably won’t want to nap today until 2 pm.  It’s like the world has started turning the opposite direction.

 

I think it says something terrible about us as a nation that we continue in a practice that few people understand or support that results in something called National Napping Day each year.  How much money is lost in reduced productivity the day after Daylight Saving Time begins?

 

Before I had children, I thought about sleep, oh, maybe once in a great while.  Like, perhaps I thought, “I’ll go to bed a bit earlier tonight so I can get up early for that international flight I have tomorrow morning.”  In other words, nearly never.  Since having children, though, I think about sleep a lot.  I’m not getting enough, Tony’s not getting enough, and the children, with the way they fight it, probably aren’t getting enough, either.  Ways to get more sleep, ways to feel less sleepy, “why won’t that kid just sleep already” are thoughts that are present on a daily basis, and that’s something I never expected before those boys came into my life. 

 

There are many tedious, disgusting, and difficult things inherent in parenting small children.  I think, despite the difficulty, that I’ll miss many of them when my boys are grown.  I’m happy to deal with the dirty diapers, the temper tantrums, and the general mess and chaos because I get to cuddle those monkeys and read to them and play with them and it is worth every second of cleaning and discipline.  But I will never miss this pervasive fatigue.

 

Thank God for coffee.  Amen.