Why did my kids not inherit my love of sleep? My favorite time of night is when I'm snuggled under my covers, exhausted and ready to snooze. In fact, I love sleep so much that I fantasize about taking naps...long, quiet, un-inturrupted naps. When Ken and the kids were searching for a birthdays present for me, Ken asked the kids for present ideas. "What does Mom like to do?" he asked. Both Alan and Ellie answered, "Sleep!" So they ended up getting me a set of silky satin sheets. (I do by the way have other things that I enjoy doing; drawing, painting, writing, reading, astronomy, etc... But it says a lot that "sleep" was the first thing they mentioned.)
It wasn't always this way. It all started when Alan was born. He would cry for five, sometimes six hours straight at night and refused to sleep for more than an hour at a time. Just when he started snoozing better, Ellie came along. She wasn't collicky like Alan, but she definately wasn't interested in sleeping. Even now, both will often lay wide awake in bed late at night and then awaken at 4 a.m. and be up for the day. And let's not forget the night terrors. I don't know how they function. Maybe they're mutants.
Anyway, sleep has become something precious, rare, and wonderful. When I was awake last night for the fifth time at 3 a.m. with Dray, I longed for sweet slumber like nobody's business.
But, when it comes down to it, as sweet as sleep is... there are three things much sweeter...
