Susan's Blog

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Giving You The Time of Day

Here is my ranking of the times of the day:
1) Early morning. This is my favorite, because I feel so happy when I wake up, so eager to begin, so psyched to taste my coffee. I love watching the darkness gradually take on the familiar, beautiful shapes of my backyard view, the gray sky turn lavender and then pink and then suddenly blue. reading my email, unloading the dishwasher, making lunches, all when the house is quiet and I’m alone. It feels like a precious moment to me, kind of an “extra.”

At about 6:30 I have to wake up Max, to take his shower. I go in and he’s all covered up under his indigo comforter, a giant with my baby’s face, now roughened by beard. I can lean over and kiss him, rather than reach up. He is a complicated young man now, but in sleep, I can still remember who he was, who he will always be.

Nat’s already awake because he is such a light sleeper. He says, “Yes,” as soon as I come into his dark room. “You have a few minutes, Sweet Guy,” I say, and he, of course, says, “Yes.” I give him a kiss and tiptoe out but the old floors creak mercilessly.

Ben is never up and has to be awakened several times. His blankets are a mess, his sheets are twisted. He sleeps with an Uglyguy, and sometimes PBG (Purple Bed Guy, who apparently is a Pokemon, whom I don’t recognize) but no more Blue Beary. He is a little precious darling, he has my face, but with small, perfect features (no lumpy nose, no pimples, no marks except for the faint square freckle nestled next to his nostril, furry dark lashes, long, lanky perfectly blond-highlighted brown hair that no salon could ever duplicate.

2) Worst time of day: 4 – 5:30 p.m.. This is when everyone’s around, kind of frantic and nudgy, at loose ends. I’m supposed to make dinner and not eat sweet things, but my body is craving all kinds of bad stuff, and this is when the boys are circling like hawks, sensing the dinner hour, needing food, and just taking it when they can. They snare a mallomar, or some yogurt, corn chips, all when I’m too harried to say, “Take fruit instead.” I can no longer read or write because I really should be cooking. I am tired and grumpy and not at all sure when the relief troops will be here.

3) Pretty great time of day: 9:30 – 10:30 p.m. Kids are all upstairs, Ned and I have an hour to ourselves. He shows me funny stuff on his laptop and I tell him what’s on my mind. We problem-solve, snuggle, laugh, gossip, whatever. At 10:30 I am totally asleep. Ned laughs at how quickly I shut down.

4 comments

Lovely post! I agree that the late afternoon, “the witching hour” is always the toughest. Has been since the kids were babies. Not quite dinnertime, have to do homework time and all that. I always hear Nat’s voice when I say “Yes” — even though I’ve never heard his actual voice. Mia says, “It’s the Mom.” I wonder if Mark bolted and married another gal if Mia would say, “It’s a Mom, not THE mom.” And 10:30? You do better than I do. 9:30 and I’m out!

— added by Kim S. on Wednesday, October 3, 2007 at 8:16 am

I’m not a morning person, and I don’t drink coffee, so I don’t get that ‘first cup of ecstacy’ that you all describe so well. Both boys are pretty cute in the morning, but you have to be careful to keep Jared off a “no” tangent.

Dusk has always been tough, and we refer to it as the ‘witching hour’ too. But I must admit, dusk at the house is much improved, we’re not as nearly pent up as we used to be.

My favorite time is about 7:30 p.m. when Thomas (6) and I start reading stories. Smetimes Jared will come in and join us or request a new story. Last night, Jared recited Green Eggs and Ham to us. What a great moment, Thomas, GB (green bear) and HL (Happy Lamb) are all in my lap and we turn pages while Jared recites from the top bunk. Those are good times.

— added by Lisa on Wednesday, October 3, 2007 at 5:18 pm

Witching hour? You guys are kind! Around here it’s the “Arsenic Hour”!

And I love the quiet of the house when the kids are at school. (OK, although I don’t get any thrill from emptying the dishwasher.)

I saw a t-shirt that said “World’s Best Mom – When My Kids Are at School!” I think I like it because that’s when can be productive, which is an upper for me.
— Cathy in CT

— added by Anonymous on Thursday, October 4, 2007 at 7:15 am

I sure agree with number two on your list…that pre-dinner hour of horror. Yelling at kids to stop snacking, while wanting to stuff my face myself and trying to get dinner going without being disrupted by questions or long stories about what some cartoon character did in the last episode they saw…EEEEK! I have heard that in the “olden days” this used to be called the grandmother hour. No matter how old or infirm, grandmother would more than pay her way (of course she lived with the young family) by taking charge of the kids at this time of day…reading to them, listening to their long stories, advising on homework, playing cards or cuddling. Sigh!

— added by Nancy Bea Miller on Thursday, October 4, 2007 at 9:11 am