We are the sorts that try to put our kids to bed by 7:00 pm each night, because -- if we're being responsible -- by 9:00 we're getting ready for bed ourselves, and we desperately want those two golden hours of In Between Time.
Even trying valiantly for this, we often fail, and it's more like 7:30 or even 8:00. But tonight I actually did have them both in bed by 7:00ish, only to have the toddler wail on and off about a variety of ailments for the following hour and a half {she needed a drink of water, she needed her nose blown [x3], she needed the music turned back on again [x2], something scared her, she needed a hug}, and by the time she was altogether quiet, I remembered that the fridge was utterly devoid of sandwich meat to make a lunch for Nathan to take to work tomorrow, so off I went to the grocery store before they closed.
On the way there, I pulled out in front of an oncoming car with a little less time than a sane person ought to leave themselves. I mean, it was still quite safe, but I realized that usually I would have waited until that car had passed, except for the strange sensation I felt that I must rush and maximize my remaining evening hours of kid-free time, and frankly, buying meat and making sandwiches isn't that high on my list.
Home a little after 9:00, I made the sandwiches and loaded dishes into the dishwasher and took my vitamins and brushed my teeth and then it was 9:30 and I ought to be going to bed right now.
I didn't get to go for a run or finish organizing the kid clothes into their bins in the basement or practice that music taunting me from my stand that I need to prepare for an upcoming concert. I didn't upload the photos from our all-American evening last night that involved pasta salad, friends, and kids playing in a plastic pool in the yard. I didn't go through the photos from the girls' recent birthday party or blog about that like I wanted to. The living room is untidy and the music room even more so. I didn't do the necessary teaching work I needed to do to finish organizing my upcoming studio recital.
Time is odd when you have children. Some of the hours in the day go so slowly and some of them go so fast. I don't think I've ever felt that a quiet evening was just dragging on interminably, though.
Dear, sweet children of ours, if you read this someday: We love you desperately, overwhelmingly, wholeheartedly. When you fall asleep in the evenings, we weep because we miss your company so much. We long to have you with us during these evening hours. But being apart from you for a few hours a day is building character in us, and so, we soldier on, knowing that we will see you again very soon; in the morning, if not before.
Ah, yes, it'll be before. For I hear the sounds of a restless toddler at this very moment!
I absolutely love, love, love those last two paragraphs.
ReplyDeleteAnd kuddos to you for getting your little ones to bed anywhere near 7. I can't even seem to manage 8 most of the time. A good night is 8 for the two youngest, and 8:30 for the boys. Far from ideal, and not what we want... but so impossible to do otherwise it seems.
And here I am at 9:22 - on the computer still when I really should be in bed, reading and relaxing a bit before turning out the light at 9:30. Humph.
It helps keep the retina the back of your eye where images are focused healthy. Most Americans get enough vitamin A in their diets, but if you have a health issue that Cheap Jordan Shoes For Men makes it hard for you to absorb nutrients (Crohn's disease, celiac disease, gastric bypass), you might have night vision New Yeezy Shoes problems. The result: night Coach Handbags Clearance blindness.
ReplyDeleteWhy not visit the West Quay Shopping Centre, Beaulieu Motor Museum, Paultons Park, Marwell Zoo, The Ageas Bowl, Southampton University and Southamptons Annual International Boat Show. The hotel also offers 2 meeting rooms. All rooms are ensuite and with FREE WIFI..
Now uninhabited, with no buildings, Brentford Ait was once home to the notorious Three Swans pub. Fred S. Thacker's "The Ray Ban Sunglasses Sale Thames Highway Locks and Weirs", published in 1920, explains: "In March 1811 one Robert Hunter of Kew Green described the island to the city Coach Outlet Sale as 'a Cheap Air Force Ones great Nuisance to this parish and the Neighbourhood on both sides of Michael Kors Outlet Online the River.' It contained a 'House of Entertainment, which has long been a Harbour for Men and women of the worst description, where riotous and indecent Scenes were often exhibited during the Summer Months on Sundays'.".