Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Why Do They Fight It?

It really shows the state of things to say that it's not even 5:00am and here I am, alone and blogging away. Andrew's gone and it's the only time I can come up with to have time to myself and the house perfectly quiet (ah, the quiet). I figure I've got a good two hours before I have to be up and cheerful and cooking and that--as they say--is priceless.

It used to be that the kids went to bed immediately at seven o'clock and we didn't hear from them again but now Lillian is the only one who actually goes to sleep at 7:00--and I have my suspicions that even she sits in bed and reads for a while before tucking in for the night--the rest of them merely wander about their room (or hall or bathroom or whatever) making varying levels of noise until we force their eyes shut and duct-tape them into bed.

Spencer and David roll around their room like two hedgehogs (is hedgehog one word or two?) locked in combat until I get really mean about things and make them go to bed. It used to be that they quietly read books until 8 but somewhere along the way I lost control. I think it might have been during the summer, the weather was really yucky . . .

Grace, however, wants to hang out where Andrew and I are and will quietly remain like a kitten curled up around our feet until someone notices that it's 9. Yesterday, however, she was exhausted (the previous nights she'd had an upset stomach) and kept laying her head down on the couch with her eyes closed until I suggested that if she was that tired she ought to go to bed early. But to voluntarily give up half an hour of bedtime went against the fabric of her universe and her eyes opened wide and she was shocked that I would suggest such a thing.

"You're not going to make me, are you?"

"No, I'm not going to make you."

Gosh I can't remember the last time I was upset to go to bed early. How would it be?

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