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America, Iceland, Germany, Jet lag

8/30/2017

3 Comments

 
PictureThom, Lee, Vin, and Ned in Reykjavik
I woke up this morning a little before seven--about the time I usually stir without the interference of alarms and children. It was 1 a.m. in New Jersey.  

Errol grunted that he had slept in the kids’ room for a few hours.

He is now the firstresponder to night wakings.  I turned in my badge when the twins started preschool.
  
Thom was wide-awake at 2 a.m.
Vinnie cried a lot.

“Oh, no. Are her worms back?”
“I didn’t see any.  Their little bodies just don’t know what time it is.”

Oh, those little bodies. How familiar I am with those four little bodies.

​Ten years ago when Thom was a baby, my relationship with the clock changed.  Before babies, when I’d unexpectedly wake in the night, it was such a relief to see predawn numbers:  “Only 3:32.  I don’t have to get up for another four hours…”  

Once the babies and their endless needs came, that all changed.  Hearing a child, glancing at the clock, and seeing a somewhat normal waking time, became a delight.

I purposefully took early morning jobs--first at a before-school program and then at a pool--to escape the children’s daybreak needs. It didn’t really make sense. The money was next to nothing and the loss of sleep a certainty, but playing tic-tac-toe with a first-grader at 6:45 beat the possibility of dealing with one of my children at 6.45 after tending them all night.  

A few days before we left New Jersey, Errol told me, “It’s nice that you’ve had bad sleep for so long your body has no expectation of good sleep.”

I do what I can.

Our Freiburg flat is beautiful.  Much too beautiful for my team, I’m afraid.  Each room has huge Oriental rugs, paintings on the walls, and grown-up furniture--not anything that could be found next to a Butler dumpster.  

Our bedroom is particularly lovely but currently taken over with open suitcases and vacuum-packed bags of clothes.

Errol asked, “What’s your plan for today?”
I threw off the covers.
“To put some pants on.”

​

3 Comments
Lolly
9/1/2017 06:26:06 am

Lovely! Keep the pix and comments coming.
Errol: Never philosophize to your wife about herself. Ever. You can say it in your head, but the thoughts should never come out in words through your lips. It is never helpful. Ever. Rich learned this at some point, and it has served him in good stead!

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Kate
9/1/2017 09:18:31 pm

Good to see you on here, kid! And I'm happy to be posting right under Miss Lolly!

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Abby
9/2/2017 10:19:59 pm

That house looks fantastic! Very sophisticated!

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