So…
You know when you are a "new" mother and your eyes are bloodshot and the kid hasn't slept in four years and all the chubby middle aged women are patting your hand and smiling and saying completely non-helpful things like "oh, just wait until they are teenagers so you'd better enjoy this while it lasts"?
They were right.
Darn it.
I should have put my kids in a dark corner of the basement and let them scream themselves to sleep because at least I would have known exactly where they were and what they were doing right?
And I could have put in earplugs or something and gone to sleep for a few hours. (I was one of those mothers who never let her babies cry–DAH–don't. Don't tell me your opinion on that. It's too late. I don't want to know.)
Honestly, I'm glad she's enjoying spring break. Hanging out with good friends, in homes where the parents are home supervising the hanging out. I know she's safe and being good.
What I don't know is what time I have to pick her up.
What I do know is what time I have to get up in the morning, because spring break doesn't translate for those of us who are employed. And that this is the third night (or morning even) in a row I'll be up late.
I also don't know…if maybe she got a ride and she's already home…sleeping in her own bed…which would explain why she isn't answering the cell phone I got her for instances just like this…
Nope. I just crept into her room and eyed the mound of blankets of bed, in the moonlight, watching for a pulse. Finally flipped on the light. Reminds me of the good old days when we'd bend over the crib in the middle of the night, trying to figure out if the critter was still breathing.
Didn't happen much. The kid never slept. But when she did it was disconcerting.
Oh, and those chubby middle aged women? The other thing they didn't tell me is why they were filling out so nicely. Because of all the crap they were eating, trying to keep their eyes open.
April 2nd, 2010 at 12:06 am
I can remember that time so clearly, but I just told them what time I would collect them or they slept over. Then it went into the period when they first learnt to drive and took the car out – I could never sleep until I heard that car arrive back in the garage. Often I was asleep by the time they got out of the car and walked inside but I could not sleep until they arrived home. It is best when they move away from home as then you don't know their minute to minute movements and so can't worry about them.
There is no solution, I am sorry. As I say, the real joys of motherhood only last as long as the anaesthetic!
April 2nd, 2010 at 8:49 pm
You mean I'm going to be this tired forever?? You know when we're older, and the kids are grown, we'll be waking up with weak bladders and hot flashes. Why didn't our mothers let us sleep in when we were young? We needed to save up! At least I have you a few steps ahead of me at each stage, so I have a heads up
April 3rd, 2010 at 12:00 pm
"the real joys of motherhood only last as long as the anaesthetic!"
April 3rd, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Yes, my mother-in-law can't sleep for more than four or five hours a night, no matter what she tries; we must resign ourselves to this fate…
April 5th, 2010 at 11:38 am
Oh, I've not visited your blog for far too long. It's so refreshing.
April 5th, 2010 at 12:49 pm
You're sweet!